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Max Verstappen’s Esports Team Disqualified for Rule Breach in Virtual Nurburgring Race
Max Verstappen’s sim racing outfit, Team Redline, has been disqualified from the 2025 virtual 24 Hours of the Nürburgring after exploiting a loophole in the iRacing platform—an act that breached the event’s official regulations. The reigning Formula 1 World Champion was not participating in the race himself but was actively engaged in the broadcast, offering commentary and interacting with fans during the live stream.
The virtual endurance race, which took place on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, saw Team Redline field three GT3-class cars. They made an impressive start in qualifying, securing top spots on the grid. The No. 71 Porsche, driven by Gustavo Ariel, Enzo Bonito, and Edoardo Leo, secured pole position with an impressive lap time of 8:06.803. Just fractions of a second behind was the No. 69 sister car, piloted by Sam Kuitert, Luke McKeown, and Cooper Webster. Team Redline’s third entry, the No. 20 BMW with drivers Florian Lebigre, Chris Lulham, and Diogo Pinto, qualified seventh.
Despite the strong qualifying performance, controversy emerged during the warm-up session prior to the race start. Observers and viewers on the live stream quickly noticed something unusual about Team Redline’s pre-race tactics. All three of their cars began the warm-up lap on rain tyres and with minimal fuel—an odd strategy given the dry track conditions. However, the true intention behind this move became clear moments later.
During the warm-up, the drivers returned their cars to the virtual garage. Once there, they switched from rain tyres to slicks, filled up the fuel tanks, and made setup changes including adjustments to the cars’ ride height. While such modifications are allowed by the iRacing platform, the rules of this specific endurance event explicitly prohibited such actions during the warm-up lap. Essentially, Team Redline had bypassed restrictions that all other teams were expected to follow, gaining a tactical advantage by optimizing their vehicles after qualifying without serving the standard penalties or adjustments.
Race organizers were alerted by sharp-eyed viewers and analysts, and an investigation was promptly launched. The actions of Team Redline were determined to be a direct violation of the event’s competitive guidelines, and as a result, all three of their entries were disqualified from the competition.
This incident has sparked debate in the sim racing community about the enforcement of rules and the integrity of esports competitions. While the platform may technically allow certain actions, event-specific rules are put in place to ensure fair play and equal footing for all competitors. Verstappen’s role in the event was limited to commentary, but as a prominent figure associated with the team, the controversy has nonetheless drawn widespread attention.
The disqualification marks a significant setback for Team Redline, which is widely regarded as one of the premier sim racing outfits globally. It also highlights the growing scrutiny and professionalism in virtual racing, where technicalities and strategy can mirror the complexities of real-world motorsport.
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