Max Verstappen called out for ‘fuelling toxicity’ after furious Le Mans race meltdown | F1 | Sports

Max Verstappen has been accused of “fuelling toxicity” after branding organizers of an online motorsport race “clowns”. Verstappen hit out at organizers of the Virtual Le Mans 24 Hour event after a technical glitch saw him disconnect six hours from the end while leading.

This dropped Verstappen’s team down to P15 with the Dutchman eventually pulling the plug and retiring his car. He said the hosts were running a “clown show” and branded the event a “joke”.

Verstappen even admitted he would never be competing in the race again and urged his followers to uninstall the software which hosted it. However, commentator Ben Constanduros slammed Verstappen’s remarks as “toxic” as he passionately defended the team behind the scenes.

In a tweet, he posted: “If it’s a clown show, that makes me and my hard working dedicated friends, clowns. Usually after a 24hr race I am tired but today has been an ugly, exhausting display of the toxic side of Sim Racing and social media. I am proud of what the Le Mans Virtual Team has achieved.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen has online meltdown after retiring from Le Mans race

It was not the first time Verstappen had been affected by a glitch in the Virtual 24 Hours of Lw Mans. The Dutchman was forced out of the inaugural 2020 edition after he collided with another competitor when his screen froze.

Verstappen made the remarks on his Twitch stream after deciding to walk away from the event. The Red Bull star commented: “They can’t even control their own game. This is the third time already that has happened to me now, being kicked off the game while doing this race.

“This is also the last time ever because what’s the point? You prepare for five months to try and win this Championship, you are leading the Championship, you try to win this race which you have prepared for two months and they handle it like this. Honestly, it’s a joke. You cannot even call it an event. It’s a clown show.”