Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean has hit back at Max Verstappen’s criticism of the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans event marred by technical issues.
The online race took place last weekend with Max Verstappen and Team Redline. However, technical issues attributed to security breaches forced the race to be red-flagged twice.
A connection problem forced Max Verstappen, who had an early lead of over a minute, to briefly drop out, dropping to 17th when he reconnected. Then, after another connection problem, Verstappen quit the race, calling it a ‘clown show’.
“Honestly, it’s a joke. You can’t even call it an event. It’s a clown show,” said Verstappen.
“It doesn’t make sense for anyone to drive six hours in 15th place, so we should retire the car. As a team, we are ashamed of all our efforts.”
“It doesn’t work on this platform and I really hope the organizers will consider where to put this game.”
“Game over. I think I’d have more chances if I went to the casino in Vegas… I would have more chances to win.”
“I’m going to uninstall the game. It’s a good thing. It frees up a little space on my PC. I really hope everyone uninstalls the game.”
However, Romain Grosjean, who won the GTE class with his own team R8G Esports, countered on Twitter, “What if engine failure or mechanical failure occurs in the real world?”
“Sim racing is very competitive and it’s great to see one of the biggest races in the world in sim. wouldn’t you?”
Verstappen’s comments were also criticized by commentator Ben Constanturos, who also took to social media to express his disappointment with Verstappen’s comments.
“If it’s a clown show, it’s me and my ardent and devoted friends who are clowns,” commented Ben Constanturos.
“Normally after a 24 hour race you’re exhausted, but today was an ugly and exhausting display of the toxic side of sim racing and social media.”
“I am proud of what the Le Mans Virtual Team has achieved.”
“Today and the first two events are incredible achievements (2022 ran without server issues).”
“It certainly didn’t go as planned for Max today. Like a few other drivers he was unfortunately cut off. The rest continued and one of them won the GTE. That’s it. It’s a race.”
“However, when you are in a position of influence, it is not wise to criticize another human being so strongly and give a negative opinion to the community that it will only harm the entire simracing world. It only contributes to the toxicity of
Category: F1 / Romain Grosjean / 24 Hours of Le Mans / Max Verstappen