Verstappen not leading by example: 'This fuels toxicity'

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Verstappen receives criticism after giving up at 24 hours of Le Mans
16 January 2023 at 08:07
Last update 16 January 2023 at 08:15
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  • GPblog.com

Ben Constanduros is not served by Max Verstappen's statements after the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Dutchman called it a clown show, but the event's commentator thinks that is going too far.

Problems for Team Redline

Last weekend, Verstappen competed in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans with Team Redline. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, however, things went wrong for Verstappen's team, which suddenly lost numerous places due to a server malfunction. The team with start number #1 did not recover those positions, irritating Verstappen, who decided to quit the race.

In an online stream, Verstappen called the event a "clown show" and it was the third time this had happened to him. The two-time world champion spoke out of deleting the game and hoped others will do the same. These statements did not go down well with Constanduros.

Response from Verstappen

''If it's a clown show, that makes me and my hard working dedicated friends, clowns. Usually after a 24hr race I am tired but today has been an ugly, exhausting display of the toxic side of Sim Racing and social media. I am proud of what the Le Mans Virtual Team has achieved,'' reads the commentator's twitter account.

Ben points out that the previous two editions went without server problems and that Verstappen was simply unlucky this time. ''Yes it didn't go Max's way today, he was unlucky to be disconnected like a few other drivers. The rest carried on (where Verstappen stopped), one of which won GTE. That is racing.''

''But calling other humans out so strongly and feeding the community with negativity when in such a influential position was not wise and only fuels the toxicity in the community which only harms the Sim Racing world as whole,'' Constanduros concludes.