Max Verstappen and his team Redline won the 24 hours of iRacing Daytona driving a Mercedes AMG GT3.
Max Verstappen has been having fun in sim racing during his time off Formula 1 and he secured a win in the GTD category of the iRacing 24 Hours of Daytona over the weekend.
Verstappen was driving the #4 Team Redline GT3 car with Gianni Vecchio and Ole Steinbraten in a virtual Daytona race, as several three-driver teams battled in the endurance race which ran for a full 24-hours.
The three-time F1 World Champion and his teammates won their 12-car category despite being forced to compete in the race while constantly being lapped owing to the GTD class having the slowest cars of the three classes, behind GTP and LMP2 in prototypes.
They had qualified ninth in class at the beginning and when the race unfolded, they had to overcome two cars from Williams Esports and other top-tier sim teams as well as the sister #2 Team Redline car.
The Redline cars were running nose to tail for extended periods of time, as it appeared that team tactics were in play the entire time. However, Verstappen and his teammates suffered a major setback when they managed to pass the #2 car after their car disconnected with nine hours remaining.
This gave the #4 car the cushion it needed to hold on from that point on and ended the race-long battle at the front of the class. Eventually, Verstappen led the #199 Stormforce ART car to the finish line first in class.
The Dutchman has a strong passion for GT3 racing and intends to pursue a career in the grand tourer class once he quits Formula 1. But before that, Verstappen disclosed his intentions of acquiring a GT3 team in the future.
The triple world champion also stated that winning was what mattered most to him besides the team and drivers’ performances during a race.
Verstappen’s performances in Formula 1 further prove his winner’s mentality. Consequently, the Dutchman’s team would undoubtedly produce excellent results in the GT3 class. The 26-year-old stated that the GT3 team could be ready for action as early as 2025.
