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Why Verstappen believes Esports is key to F1's future

Compared to established Esports games in other spheres, motorsport's own fledgling championships lag far behind. But there are signs that interest is growing - and even Formula 1 stars are feeling the benefits of sim racing

By electing to attend last week's Gran Turismo World Finals in Monaco off his own back on a rare weekend free between Formula 1 races, Max Verstappen highlighted the genuine attraction of top level Esports events.

Verstappen, fresh from his win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, was not there as a paid celebrity to give it endorsement. Instead, he simply wanted to cheer on his Team Redline sim racing team-mate Mikail Hizal, and the Red Bull driver was left raving about the atmosphere and buzz inside the arena.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.