Max Verstappen’s love for simulator racing is what gives him the edge over rival Lewis Hamilton.

That’s the opinion of former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, who won 10 races in his Formula 1 career. Like the rest of us, the Austrian was impressed by Verstappen’s dominance in the 2023 season, winning 19 of the 22 races and beating many others records. But Verstappen is more than just a great driver in real life. He is also very good at simulators and uses them in addition to his work at Red Bull. He has state-of-the-art equipment at home and regularly participates in online competitions. Verstappen’s performance in real life has forced Berger to reconsider his long held views on who is the best driver in F1. “I’m biased on the question because I’m for or against Ayrton Senna, so I usually put him first,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “But that’s where the question begins: How do you evaluate something like that?” In reality, this only applies to facts or figures. Then you have to put Michael Schumacher first. Senna was impressed by his driving talent and supernatural abilities. “But now we have someone in Max Verstappen. The validity of previous assessments is questionable. Max did no wrong last season. At least that’s what happened to Sena at times.”

Of course, when we had athletes like Senna and Schumacher, today’s virtual racing tools weren’t available. Hamilton was currently at the same stage of his career as Verstappen, but his skills were not yet mature.