The world of Formula 1 is a multi-billion-dollar theatre of technological warfare, where every fraction of a second is bought with cutting-edge engineering and exhaustive track data. Yet, in a shocking revelation that blurs the line between virtual pastime and elite professional sport, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen has pulled back the curtain on a low-key, widely available PC racing simulator that forms the bedrock of his pre-race preparation. The secret weapon isn’t a proprietary, hyper-exclusive, million-dollar machine locked away in the Red Bull Technology Campus—it’s Assetto Corsa, a game costing less than a tank of fuel, albeit one that F1’s elite have radically transformed into an unparalleled training tool.
The confession from the reigning champion reframes how we view the modern F1 driver. It shatters the romanticized notion that all preparation is done trackside or within hyper-secretive team facilities, revealing that one of the sport’s most dominant figures is spending his downtime competing and practicing in a virtual environment that is anything but casual. The key, as Verstappen explains, lies in the intense modification and customization that turns the game into a hyper-realistic, yet incredibly flexible, virtual testing ground.
Beyond the Standard Sim: An Ecosystem of Hyper-Realism
Verstappen’s crucial distinction is that the version of the game used by F1 drivers is not the retail copy available to the average gamer. Instead, it is a living, breathing ecosystem of custom-made models and sophisticated data adjustments, driven by an unyielding quest for absolute realism.
“We use mainly Assetto Corsa,” Verstappen explained. “But it’s not the standard one that you can buy on it. You have a modified mod exactly. So we got, yeah, we have models and then even in the files you can adjust things.” This capability to dive into the core files and perpetually adjust parameters is precisely why the platform is so valuable. It allows drivers to maintain an unparalleled level of communication with the mod creators—the unsung heroes of this virtual R&D—to continuously refine the experience.
This collaborative feedback loop is where the simulation graduates from a game to a precise technical instrument. Drivers take to the virtual track, identify the smallest discrepancies, and then send the data back to the modders for immediate correction. Verstappen described the granular level of detail involved: “We try to get them realistic and then we drive and then we say maybe this curb is not realistic or is too bumpy, not enough, and then we ask the guy for making some changes and yeah, we try to make it as realistic as possible,” he detailed.
This process is critical to the mental and physical preparation of a Grand Prix driver. It allows them to pre-program their muscle memory for every bump, crest, and elevation change on a circuit long before they arrive on-site. By ensuring the virtual track surface, the feel of the car, and the physics of the tires are a near-perfect mirror of reality, drivers can maximize their limited time in the real F1 car, focusing solely on live setup adjustments rather than relearning basic track physics.
The Next Generation: Gabriel Bortoleto’s Perspective
The seriousness of this virtual pursuit is underscored by the involvement of Team Redline, the professional sim racing team that Max Verstappen competes with. Further insight into this elite circle comes from Gabriel Bortoleto, a rising star in the feeder series (Formula 3 at the time of joining) and an official ambassador for Team Redline.
Bortoleto confirmed his integration into the high-octane virtual environment, noting that he joined the group in 2023. While his daily routine differs slightly from Verstappen’s—he does not currently assist the team with development work or car setups—his role is vital: competitive practice.
“I do a lot of sim racing, mainly with Max and sometimes with the other sim drivers,” Bortoleto explained, highlighting the constant internal competition that sharpens their skills. His focus is nearly exclusive to the Assetto Corsa platform, where he spends most of his time driving the F1 car model, locking horns with other Team Redline members to set the fastest possible laps. “When I play with the Team Redline guys, I try to set good lap times and we try to beat each other,” he said.
Bortoleto’s confidence in his specialization is telling. When asked about his ranking among the global sim racing community, he didn’t shy away from drawing a clear distinction: “In Assetto Corsa with the F1 car, I’d say I’m top 10, maybe top five,” he asserted, while conceding his ranking drops in other sim titles. This is not arrogance, but a testament to the hyper-specific focus required to be elite at the highest level—even in a game.
The Philosophy: Assetto Corsa vs. iRacing
The discussion further revealed a fascinating philosophical divide in the sim racing world, illustrating why Assetto Corsa has become the platform of choice for the F1 training elite, rather than the more popular competitive title, iRacing.
For Bortoleto, the preference is purely down to the underlying realism of the physics engine. “I feel like it’s the most realistic in terms of tire behavior and how the car behaves,” he explained. In the high-stakes world of F1, where managing tire temperature and degradation is often the deciding factor in a race, a simulator that accurately models complex tire physics is irreplaceable.
iRacing, while widely respected and used by professional drivers across various disciplines, serves a different purpose. Bortoleto noted, “iRacing is amazing for racing, but Assetto Corsa is more about doing laps by yourself or with your friends, focusing on practicing and improving your skills.” This contrast positions Assetto Corsa as the perfect tool for deliberate practice, focusing on pure car control, physics mastery, and technical refinement, while iRacing is reserved for the cut-and-thrust of wheel-to-wheel competitive multiplayer action.
While Bortoleto is dedicated to his current focus on F1 preparation within Assetto Corsa, the competitive itch remains. He acknowledged the need to eventually shift his focus back to the other competitive platform to maintain his standing. “I stepped away to focus more on F1 in Assetto, but I need to go back and work on my ranking there,” he added, confirming that the life of a modern racing driver requires mastering multiple virtual disciplines.
The New Reality of Driver Development
Max Verstappen’s insight into the extreme modifications and high-stakes use of Assetto Corsa is more than just a piece of trivia—it’s a powerful testament to the evolution of driver training. It reveals that the pursuit of marginal gains in Formula 1 has driven the sport’s most successful figures to weaponize an open-source video game community.
What was once a niche hobby is now a critical component of professional success. The drivers are not just gamers; they are specialized developers, collaborating with mod creators to fine-tune virtual models with the same obsessive precision their engineers apply to the real-life machinery. From adjusting the height of a digital curb to modeling the subtle decay of a virtual tire, this virtual proving ground allows the F1 elite to conduct thousands of hours of rigorous, highly specific preparation that would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming in the real world.
The secret weapon, it turns out, is not a piece of exclusive hardware, but the sheer dedication to transforming the simulated world into a perfect, personalized reflection of the Grand Prix weekend. And as Verstappen and Bortoleto prove, the next F1 champion may very well be forged not only on the track but also in the quiet, highly-modded world of a PC simulator.
