Max Verstappen’s side quests for sim racing success have landed him in trouble. At the Hungarian GP qualifying, the Dutchman was unable to match McLaren’s pace, settling for P3. However, instead of being properly rested for the race, he continued sim racing for Team Redline hours past midnight. This has brought his F1 commitment under the scanner with former champion Nico Rosberg criticizing Verstappen’s unprofessionalism and commending Lando Norris‘ super-disciplined routine.

iRacing’s 24 hours at Spa was scheduled for the same weekend as the Hungarian GP. The last time Verstappen contributed to Team Redline during a race weekend was in Imola this year. Then, he won both events – iRacing’s 24 hours at Nurburgring and the Emilia Romagna GP. But this time around, McLaren is much quicker than Red Bull. Though the Dutchman’s team won the iRacing event today when the Hungarian GP was on, he couldn’t replicate his Imola heroics to take another double victory. A P5 was all he could achieve after a race filled with angry radio messages from him.

Ahead of the Hungarian GP, Nico Rosberg somewhat predicted this lack of performance. He began by praising Pole-sitter Norris. “I was quite impressed, actually, because he [Norris] has learned how to become a more professional athlete. When he started F1, especially against Ricciardo, he wasn’t really trying to be perfect as an athlete,” Rosberg revealed to Sky Sports. “Last night his bedtime was 11:05, not 11:00. Wake up was 8:05, and breakfast was already set, like exactly what to eat. So he was hyper-professional, which was nice to know,” he added.

The 2016 Mercedes champion then elaborated how Verstappen’s routine wasn’t up to par at all. “At the same time, in contrast, you have Verstappen, who until 3:00 a.m. last night, was sim-racing,” he said. “That’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it? It just shows that he’s too used to his ease of domination.”

Maybe it was because of these reasons Rosberg chose Norris as his Hungarian GP winner. However, the ‘Rosberg curse’ took effect again after an exception at the British GP, with Oscar Piastri pipping Norris for the win. Along with F1’s new winner, the eyes will remain on Verstappen, who faces a tough post-race debrief.

Eddie Jordan condemns Max Verstappen’s desperate pursuit of sim racing success

During the Emilia Romagna GP weekend, Max Verstappen successfully maneuvered his way around both racing events. After qualifying in Imola, the Dutchman put in a 2.5-hour stint for the iRacing Nurburgring 24 Hours. He then clocked in 7 hours of sleep before putting in another 2-hour stint in the morning of the race. But because his race was unaffected, there was no criticism, except for one voice – Eddie Jordan.

“I wouldn’t have allowed it if I was Christian,” Jordan said on the Formula for Success podcast. “I would have said, ‘Sorry, Max. You’re here, you’re being paid this kind of money to be representing sponsors of the team and everybody associated with it, suppliers, etc.” Though the 76-year-old also called Verstappen a “racing machine”, his advice will be of prime importance to Red Bull now.

Not getting enough sleep could’ve been one reason for Verstappen being so flustered on the team radio. His race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, kept getting earfuls throughout the race. Team Principal Christian Horner could now be forced to have a chat with the 3-time champion about his sim racing ‘addiction’ of sorts to ensure that his F1 performance doesn’t drop. With Sergio Perez already floundering, Red Bull cannot afford more roadblocks.