F1's champion-in-waiting Max Verstappen is one of the best FIFA players in the world, and loves it so much he played for 14 hours during the US Grand Prix
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen is seemingly obsessed with the FIFA soccer video game.
- According to his boss, Verstappen played for 14 hours during the US Grand Prix weekend.
- In past years, Verstappen has been ranked as one of the 25 best players of the game on the planet.
The man who looks set to become the newest Formula One world champion is one of the best players of the FIFA video game in the world, and loves it so much he found 14 hours to play during the most recent Grand Prix weekend.
Max Verstappen is on the verge of securing his first title and could do so within three races, but it seems the track is not the only place where the Dutchman is competitive.
His Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed this week that the 24-year-old driver is a huge fan of FIFA, playing for several hours at a time.
So keen is Verstappen that he racked up 14 hours of playtime while he was at the US Grand Prix this past week, according to his boss Horner.
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Horner made the revelation when he was asked by Sky Sports F1 to tell the viewers something they did not know about Verstappen.
"There's probably quite a lot you don't know about Max," he said. "He's probably done about 14 hours of FIFA football this weekend while he's been here."
Verstappen is known to be a big fan of the video game, and in previous years was ranked as one of the best players of the game on the planet.
According to FIFA statistics site Futwiz, Verstappen - who goes by the gamer tag "crgboy007" online - was ranked 21st in the world in the FIFA Ultimate Team game mode in January 2019, while he reached 31st in the world in August 2018.
Verstappen has previously played against fellow F1 driver Lando Norris, also a big gamer, on Twitch, beating him in all three games they played.
Speaking to Sky at the weekend, Horner added that Verstappen "just loves driving."
"He's a great guy. He's really understated," he said. "You can see sometimes he's a bit uncomfortable with the adulation he's getting and he just loves driving.
"He just wants to drive fast. He never changes."
Verstappen's FIFA playing didn't seem to be detrimental to his performance over the weekend. He secured pole position for the race, then held off Lewis Hamilton to win an eighth race of the season and increase his world championship lead.