Max Verstappen gives shock advice to F1 hopefuls

Max Verstappen has suggested young hopefuls would be better suited to invest in a simulator rather than go-karting to forge a racing career.

Go-karting has long been seen as the starting point for all racing careers, with successful drivers racing at an international level before stepping into single-seater cars.

However, there has been an uptick in the use of home simulators from current professional drivers, including Verstappen, who often spends his spare time at his rig from home.

The four-time champion recently appeared on the Pelas Pistas podcast, where he spoke alongside fellow F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto - another figure who has a keen interest in simulators.

When asked if a driver should do 300 days of go-karting or 300 days in the simulator, Verstappen replied: “Forget the go-kart.

“That's the problem with our sport - when you grow up playing football, you play from a young age with the ball. “The ball doesn't change.

“For us, I feel like a go-kart is not the same as a race car.

“[With a] go-kart, you learn the basics of racing - starts defending, overtaking, but a go-kart does not handle like a car.

“You already sit completely different, you have suspension. The go-kart, you always have to slide it because you have the axle,  it always needs to be free and always needs to slide.

“A car is the opposite, because the car, for me always needs to be stuck on the rear and then you try to take as much front end as you can, but in general, the rear needs to be stuck.

“So the whole driving dynamic is very different. I would always say do go-karting for fun, but not, not as a proper practice.

“Go-karting is fine - it’s very good to learn as a kid but at one point that’s done and you need to move on.”

Verstappen added that he has not driven a go-kart since 2016, during the early stages of his F1 career, but is more interested in exploring GT racing rather than returning to his roots.

“I enjoy much more going out in a GT car, doing testing in GT, or racing in GT, or being on my on my simulator at home, preparing for F1 or simulator prep for the stuff we have in Holland,” he said.