- Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen came to Detroit this week for the launch of Red Bull’s 2026 race car.
- Car and driver got the chance to interview him, albeit briefly, and we asked him about his well-known enjoyment of racing simulators.
- Verstappen gave us some tips on how to build the ideal sim and said it is essential to get two things right: the brake pedal and the wheelbase.
It’s no secret that Max Verstappen spends a lot of time on racing simulators. The four-time Formula 1 world champion seems to spend every hour that he is not in his real racing car in front of his home setup. We had the chance to speak briefly with Verstappen ahead of Red Bull’s 2026 car launch party in Detroit, where he gave us some insight into his home setup and told us how to focus our efforts on building an ideal sim.
Speaking about his personal settings, Verstappen said: “It’s quite bespoke and you can buy it all online, but you also get access to some personal settings.” According to Verstappen, the personalization is part of the appeal. “You try to make it the way you like it, you know? Some people like different things.’
Just like with real racing cars, there is also the upgrade aspect. “And of course new stuff comes out almost every year, so you’re upgrading your simulator quite a bit.”
Verstappen spends so much time thinking about sim racing that, while on last year’s Securing the Win podcast, he he admitted to consider developing its next home around an upgraded sim setup. According to Verstappen, the idea was inspired by the amount of time he spends using Red Bull’s professional simulator in Milton Keynes, England, although he admits his home setup is unlikely to be that large.
Since most of us can’t afford to design a house around a professional racing sim, we asked Verstappen which parts of the sim were best to spend our money on. “The most important thing to get right is the brake pedal,” Verstappen told us. “And the wheelbase,” he added. “Those are probably the most important parts besides a good computer, but for me those are the most important things you have to do well if you really want to be competitive.”
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Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his still unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealer group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford, and decided to pursue a career in automotive writing. By chasing down his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel across Wisconsin in search of stories about the automotive world before landing his dream job at Car and driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
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