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Formula One’s Max Verstappen to compete in Australian Supercars Eseries

No stranger to racing simulators or fiery competition, the Dutch F1 star will go head-to-head with some of Australia’s best tomorrow.


Formula One driver Max Verstappen will join in for round two of the Supercars’ All Stars Eseries this Wednesday.

Races will take place at England’s Silverstone and Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya circuits rendered in iRacing, a simulator that has laid the foundation for the Supercars Eseries due to its realism and attention to detail, with racers competing online from their homes.

Both circuits are familiar to Verstappen as they are included in the real-life Formula One’s global roster. Catalunya also played host to the Dutchman’s first F1 race win, simultaneously earning him the title of youngest ever to do so.

"It's fantastic news for the BP All Stars ESeries that Max Verstappen is joining the grid ... as a wildcard," a Supercars spokesperson told CarAdvice.

"Max brings with him an international fanbase and a competitive streak that will make for great racing."

The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver – and ex-teammate of Australian Daniel Ricciardo – will represent the banner under its subsidiary Supercars team, driving a Holden Commodore with the team’s F1-inspired livery and #33 his Formula One car wears.

Verstappen will compete alongside real-life Red Bull Racing Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen.

“It’s awesome that a driver of Max’s calibre will be on the grid to take us on in a Red Bull Supercar,” van Gisbergen said.

“He’s fast and he knows these tracks well, so I expect to see him at the front.”

Supercars conceived its All Stars Eseries competition in late-March due to real-life event postponement caused by COVID-19 as a contactless way to ensure its fans could still enjoy racing.

“This is a great opportunity to embrace and engage the growing Supercars fan base into the eSports community,” a Supercars spokesperson told CarAdvice before the competition commenced.

Round one of the Eseries took place on April 8, hosting three events across Phillip Island and Italy’s Monza. Scott McLaughlin took races one and three at Monza – boosting him ahead in the points tally, while Jack Le Brocq secured victory in race two at Philip Island.

Above: Supercars All Stars Eseries round one at Phillip Island

More than 158,000 fans tuned in to watch the live broadcast of round one on Fox Sports, accompanied by 210,736 online viewers. These numbers could grow vastly tomorrow given the Formula One star’s international following.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of interest around Max's online Supercars debut both in Australia and abroad," Supercars told CarAdvice.

Wednesday’s live broadcast will begin at 7pm AEST on Fox Sports, Kayo, Sky Sports (NZ) and 10 Play from 7-9pm AEST.

The races are also available online via Supercars' Facebook page and Supercars’ Teams Facebook pages. International fans can watch through Red Bull TV.

Supercars recently announced that qualifying will also be exclusively broadcast through Fox Sports, commencing 60 minutes prior to racing at 6pm AEST.

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