Max Verstappen hasn’t sat in a GT3 automobile since main his class on the Nurburgring 24 Hours again in Might, and he is about to leap into one towards Valentino Rossi with little or no lead time. On October 17, he’ll climb into the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the GT World Problem Europe finale at Portimao, sharing driving duties with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat.
The seat opened up as a result of drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon are racing on the World Endurance Championship spherical that very same weekend. Rossi will probably be on the identical grid in a WRT-run BMW, which is purpose sufficient for us to double-circle the date.
However Verstappen, too? It makes me marvel how he finds the time.
That is the sim setup that permits Verstappen to grasp a number of types of motorsport.
Why Max Verstappen selected a static rig
Most high-end sim setups chase realism by way of movement platforms that pitch, roll, and shake to imitate what an actual chassis does below load. Verstappen selected to not make investments on this tech, selecting as an alternative to stay with a static setup. Talking on Crew Redline’s YouTube channel, he mentioned: “I am driving at house on a static rig as a result of it is sooner. All these sorts of movement rigs are slower however in fact, if you wish to attempt to replicate somewhat little bit of what you’re feeling in actual life, then yeah, you purchase a movement rig. However I feel it is not likely mandatory in the mean time.”
With Verstappen unlikely to be certain by a finances when placing collectively his dream rig, this alternative comes from the truth that you may merely be sooner when not wrestling pointless motion. It isn’t like the person wants expertise with G-forces created by a automobile.
24h Spa 2026: Verstappen-AMG raus, erneuter Ferrari-Reifenschaden
Photograph by: SRO/JEP
The {hardware} and the crew behind it
At house in Monaco, Verstappen trains on Simucube ActivePedals, paired with a Precision Sim Engineering LM-X wheel, in entrance of a triple 32-inch curved show setup made from Samsung Odyssey G7s. The wheelbase driving that rim is a Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 Final, and his seat is a Customized Recaro Podium. He additionally has an F1 World Drivers’ Championship trophy sat proper subsequent to his setup. A precise price ticket is not identified, however estimates have put a comparable construct someplace between $25,000 and $35,000 or extra (not together with the trophy, in fact).
The setup additionally boasts a Purple Bull Mini Fridge Child Cooler 2020 RB-BC2020 for all of the power drink gasoline, I can solely assume.
“It is fairly customized, and you should buy all of it on-line, however you get into some private settings as nicely,” he instructed Automotive and Driver in the beginning of 2026. “An important to get proper is the brake pedal,” he continued. “And the wheelbase. These are in all probability an important elements apart from pc, however for me, these are an important issues to get proper if you wish to be actually aggressive.”
On race weekends, Crew Redline builds him a journey model inside his motorhome utilizing a Sim-Lab P1-X cockpit, and it comes as no shock to search out out he has a pair extra in different areas, together with one on his yacht.
However what software program does he use to shine his abilities between races? iRacing is his go-to. And his crew, Crew Redline, frequents the occasions held by the corporate behind the reasonable racing recreation.
No matter occurs at Portimao towards Rossi, Verstappen can have logged extra hours bolted to a rig that may go wherever than a lot of the discipline have logged in precise GT3 equipment this 12 months.
“My dream is of getting a sim driver transfer into the actual world and making it a hit story, and seeing him progress, and seeing him evolve, hopefully in the long run, make him principally an expert driver,” he instructed The Athletic final 12 months.
“That he could make his residing off it. That’s the objective, and that is one thing that slowly we’re making methods in.”
We would like your opinion!
What would you prefer to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
– The Motorsport.com Crew