Max Verstappen will no longer drive in late-night sim races following his disappointing performance at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull star finished fifth and fans noticed he was up at 3am on the morning of the race in the virtual 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
3
Verstappen endured a frustrating outing at the Hungaroring and was heard making expletive remarks in tense team radio conversations.
"You guys gave me this s*** strategy, okay? I’m trying to rescue what’s left," he replied to a suggestion he pushed too hard on his medium tyres at around the lap 53 mark.
Hours before winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Dutchman raced in the virtual Nurburgring 24-hour sim tournament with his Team Redline.
But it appears as though action has now been taken on his sim racing activities ahead of the second-half of the 2024 Formula 1 racing calendar.
READ MORE ON MAX VERSTAPPEN
"I have to say that in Imola he didn't go to bed until three in the morning after a sim racing session - and then won the Grand Prix," Red Bull director Helmut Marko told speedweek.com.
"Max has a different sleep pattern, and he had his seven hours of sleep. His late-night sim appearance on the Hungary weekend only came about because a driver in his team had dropped out.
"Nevertheless, we agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future."
Former world champion Nico Rosberg criticised Verstappen for staying up late and compared him to Lando Norris, who came second.
3
3
"I was quite impressed, actually, because he [Norris] has learned how to become a more professional athlete," he said on Sky Sports. "When he started F1, especially against Daniel Ricciardo, he wasn't really trying to be perfect as an athlete.
"Last night his bedtime was 11:05, not 11:00, 05. Wake up was 8:05, and breakfast was already set, like exactly what to eat. So he was hyper-professional, which was nice to know.
Most read in Motorsport
Former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner plays 'Word Association' with F1 stars including Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and discusses the best and worst moments of his career
"At the same time, in contrast, you have Verstappen, who until 3am. last night was sim-racing. That's a bit disappointing, isn't it? It just shows that he's too used to his ease of domination."
Despite his poor race, which also saw him collide with Lewis Hamilton late on, Verstappen still leads the drivers' standings.
Read More on talkSPORT
The three-time world champion sits on 265 points with Red Bull also topping the constructors' table on 389 points, albeit just 51 ahead of McLaren.
Verstappen can return to winning ways this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix where victory would be his eighth this season.