Red Bull issue Verstappen 'trust' verdict after 3am sim antics

Christian Horner has come to the defence of Max Verstappen after his late-night gaming habits caught the attention of the F1 world over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

The Dutch driver competed in the 24 Hours of Spa on popular sim-racing game iRacing, alongside his usual Red Bull duties at the Hungaroring - which included staying up until 3am to complete his stint.

It is not the first time Verstappen has dovetailed a grand prix event with online racing. Earlier in the season, he took a virtual triumph with Team Redline before claiming victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, in May.

However, his latests exploits gained traction after a poor result in Budapest. Aside from his fifth-place finish and late collision with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, what was particularly noteworthy was the robust and aggressive exchanges he had via team radio with his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.

In addition to Horner confirming there would be private conversations over his star driver's radio conduct, the Red Bull team principal insisted that any discussions over Verstappen's late-night activities would not take place in the the media - before coming to the 26-year-old's defence.

"He knows exactly what's required in a grand prix and we trust his judgment," Horner told media including RacingNew365.

"I think people draw conclusions. Max knows what's required, he knows what it takes to drive a grand prix car and to win grand prix and be a world champion.

"As a team, we always work as a team and whatever discussions of how to reprove will always not take place in the media."

At Imola, Verstappen claimed pole position and held off a late charge by Lando Norris to take victory in the race itself.

The three-time drivers' champion has enjoyed sim racing for some time. However, the suggestion made by many during the Hungarian Grand Prix was that his late-night exploits were impacting his ability to deliver on track for Red Bull.

Once key difference for Verstappen, is that his team no longer enjoys the dominant performance delta it once did. Race weekends are no longer the procedural affair they appeared to be during 2023 and early into this season.

That is something Horner is also acutely aware of, even if he did not get drawn in to questions over whether Verstappen had been "spoiled" over the easy of the past two years.

"With stable regulations, the margin gains - you're into a curve where the gains are going to become harder and harder to find," the 50-year-old said.

"That's normal. That's the normal cycle - I've been in this business 20 years, that's what happens. 

"Now, [it] doesn't mean you accept it, it means you've just got to work harder to find the incremental gains and execute good races and be on the top of your game, and we know we need to improve in the second half of the year."