While most F1 drivers use the simulator in order to learn tracks, keep their reflexes sharp and set fast laps, Toro Rosso’s rookie driver Max Verstappen is in there practicing his overtaking skills.

At first this may not seem news-worthy, but this kid is really getting after it, trying to come up with new ways to improve his performance on the track by creating so called “go-to” moves – much like how professional athletes have certain moves they go to when they need to get past their man or score a goal/basket.

Verstappen practiced racing at Spa and Monza after joining simracing team Redline at the beginning of summer. In real life, he went on to pass Sauber’s Felipe Nasr around the outside of the first chicane at Spa, which was something Max had completed on the racing sim a week ahead of the actual event.

“It’s always good because you know how much space you have,” said the rookie driver. “Also on simracing, sometimes you go a bit too far and you know that you can’t do it. I think it helps me. I mean I did it for Spa and I did it again for Monza and two times it worked on the real track. The overtake I did on Nasr, I did exactly the same in the sim again.”

However, reigning champ Lewis Hamilton said that he feels different about this topic.

“I’m more of an edge of my seat kind of driver,” he said. “I like freestyling when I’m out there. None of my overtaking manoeuvres are the same as the others.”

While we don’t doubt that Lewis has plenty of experience to just “wing” it out there, he then went on to say that: “I don’t like planning things or preparing, ‘this is going to be a corner I’m going be overtaking here and so I’m going to practice, practice, practice and then do it’. I like arriving and not knowing where I’m going to do it.”

Doesn’t that seem a bit odd, no matter how much skill and natural talent/instinct you have on the track? If there’s anything you can do in order to give yourself a tactical advantage, then you should definitely do it, as a professional athlete or in this case, race car driver.

Story references: Autosport

PHOTO GALLERY