F1 world champion Max Verstappen was furious after technical difficulties forced his team to retire during the 24 hours of Le Mans Virtual.
Whilst running in the lead, a server disconnection put Verstappen and his team out with just under six hours of the race remaining. The Red Bull F1 driver competes for Team Redline in the Virtual Le Mans Series – a sim racing championship that is one of the premier Esports competitions.
After disconnecting from the game, Max Verstappen launched into a rant at the virtual Le Mans organisers.
“It’s just incompetence,” fumed the reigning F1 World champion on Redline’s Twitch stream. “This is already the third time that this has happened today, getting kicked off the game.
“I’m not doing this race – also the last time I am participating. Because what’s the point? You prepare for five months to try and win this championship; you are leading the championship. You’re trying to win this race – which you have prepared for two months. And they handle it like this.
“Honestly, it’s a joke. You cannot call this an event – it’s a clown show. To drive around in P15 for six hours makes no sense for everyone. It’s a disgrace for all the effort we have put in as a group. I really hope the organisers will consider where they put this race. On this platform, it’s not going to work.”
He also diverted some of his anger at the game that 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual uses.
Max Verstappen rants at Virtual Le Mans disappointment
Sat with his arms folded, Verstappen aired his frustration at the game which the event was running on.
“I think I have more chance to win if I go to a casino in Vegas,” he added. “Well, I think I’m going to uninstall the game – frees up a bit of space on the PC, anyway. And I really hope everyone uninstalls the game.”
The Esports series utilises a sim racing game called rFactor2. Following the server issues, they released a statement to explain what happened.
A security breach involving competitors’ IP addresses allegedly caused the server problems. rFactor2 will do a full investigation into why this happened as a result.
But that will not stop Max Verstappen and his team’s annoyance at losing the endurance race. Not only do they miss out on $250,000 prize money, but the Team Redline #1 car also lost the five-round championship.
#1 Team Redline miss out on race win and championship
Instead of Team Redline, Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team claimed the championship. They accumulated the most points over the five virtual rounds at Bahrain, Monza, Spa, Sebring, and Le Mans. Porsche overcame Redline following their podium finish at the Le Mans finale.
To add insult to injury, Verstappen and Team Redline were leading the championship before the 24-hour event.
There was some redemption for Team Redline in the virtual race around the Circuit de la Sarthe, though. Their sister car, the #2 racer, claimed the overall victory in the virtual Le Mans.
F2 star Felipe Drugovich and Indycar ace Felix Rosenqvist helped the #2 car take the win by 21 seconds. The championship-winning #20 Porsche finished second to seal top spot in the 2022/23 standings. Meanwhile, the #53 AMG Team Williams car rounded out the podium in third.
However, the scathing words of F1 star Max Verstappen have grabbed all the attention at the virtual Le Mans. They will have plenty of work to repair their ties with the F1 champion if they want Verstappen to return next year.
Featured image credit: Team Redline on Twitch
