Max Verstappen doesn't just race on real tracks. He also spends serious hours behind a simulator at home. That home setup isn't a cheap office chair with a gamepad. It's a full professional rig that costs more than most people spend on a car. So how much does Max Verstappen's sim setup actually cost?
What does Max Verstappen's sim setup look like?
Verstappen built a dedicated sim racing room in his Monaco apartment, fully equipped with a professional motion simulator, multiple screens, and a custom cockpit. He uses it to prepare for race weekends and to stay sharp between seasons. Red Bull also uses simulator data from these sessions to fine-tune car setups.
The setup is not off the shelf. Most components are custom built or heavily modified, which is why a simple price tag doesn't exist. Still, we can break it down based on what is publicly known and what comparable professional sim rigs cost.
The motion platform: the most expensive part
The centerpiece of Verstappen's sim is a high-end motion platform. These rigs simulate the forces a driver feels in a real car, think lateral G-forces, braking pressure, and kerb vibrations. Verstappen uses a setup similar to what Formula 1 teams use in their official simulators.
Professional motion platforms from brands like Dynisma, or rFpro-compatible systems, start at around 50,000 euros. High-end versions with six degrees of freedom easily reach 150,000 euros or more. Red Bull has confirmed that Verstappen's home rig includes motion feedback, which puts the platform alone in a serious price range.
Why motion matters for a driver like Verstappen
A static rig gives you visual feedback. A motion rig gives you physical feedback. For a driver at Verstappen's level, the feel of the car is everything: he trains his muscle memory to react to forces, not just images. That's why the motion platform isn't optional for him. It's the core of the entire system.
Screens and visuals: wide, fast, and sharp
Verstappen uses a triple screen setup with large curved monitors. These aren't standard gaming monitors. They're high refresh rate displays, often running at 240Hz or higher, with low latency. A professional triple monitor setup like this costs between 3,000 and 8,000 euros depending on size and specification.
Some sources suggest he has also experimented with a single large ultrawide screen. Both setups aim for full peripheral vision coverage, since a wide field of view helps replicate what a driver sees through the visor in a real cockpit. A good sim racing monitor stand is essential here to position the screens at exactly the right angle and height.
Does Verstappen use VR in his sim setup?
There is no confirmed evidence that Verstappen uses VR as his primary display. Most professional F1 drivers avoid VR for serious sim training because the latency is too high and the resolution still falls short of high-end screens. Triple screens remain the standard at the top level of sim racing.
The cockpit and seat: built for precision
Verstappen's cockpit mimics the dimensions of a real Formula 1 car as closely as possible, with an extremely reclined seating position and the legs elevated. This affects every input the driver makes. A sim racing cockpit that replicates F1 ergonomics costs between 2,000 and 10,000 euros for high-end aluminum chassis versions.
The sim racing seat inside the cockpit is also custom. In a real race car, the seat is molded to the driver's body, and Verstappen's home sim follows that same philosophy. It locks the body in position so every steering and pedal input comes from the correct muscle groups. A proper sim racing seat starts at around 200 euros and goes up to 2,500 euros for the best composite options.
Steering wheel and pedals: where the feel is made
The steering wheel Verstappen uses at home closely resembles the one he uses in the RB20, complete with a quick release, multiple buttons, rotary switches, and a high-torque direct drive motor.
The pedals are equally serious. Load cell pedals measure actual pressure instead of position, which makes braking feel much closer to a real race car. High-end pedal sets from brands like Heusinkveld or Moza cost between 500 and 1,500 euros. Verstappen uses pedals tuned to match the brake feel of his actual F1 car as closely as possible.
What direct drive base does Verstappen use?
The exact base is not officially confirmed, but based on visible footage and what Red Bull's sim partners use, it's consistent with a high-torque servo direct drive system. These systems have almost zero latency and deliver raw, unfiltered road feel, which is the level of fidelity Verstappen needs to extract real training value from the simulator.
Asetek SimSports Invicta™ Pedals T.H.O.R.P.™ II Throttle and Brake Pedals
So what is the total cost of Max Verstappen's sim setup?
Adding it all up gives a realistic picture. The motion platform sits between 80,000 and 150,000 euros. The screens add another 5,000 to 8,000 euros. The cockpit and seat together account for roughly 5,000 to 12,000 euros. The wheel and pedals add another 3,000 to 5,000 euros. Computing hardware to run it all at high fidelity adds at least 5,000 euros more.
The total cost of Max Verstappen's sim setup is estimated between 100,000 and 200,000 euros. Some estimates go even higher once you factor in custom integration, installation, and software licenses for professional simulation tools. This is not a hobbyist setup. It's a professional training tool that happens to live in a private apartment.
What can you learn from Verstappen's setup choices?
You don't need 150,000 euros to build a fast and effective sim rig. What Verstappen's setup teaches is the order of priorities: motion and feel come first, then accurate ergonomics, then visual fidelity. Most sim racers do it the other way around and wonder why their lap times don't transfer to real skills.
A solid sim racing simulator starts with a good cockpit, a direct drive wheel, and load cell pedals. From there you add screens and a sim racing chair that holds you in the correct position. That combination already puts you in a completely different league compared to a standard gaming setup. At SIMGASM, we stock everything you need to build exactly this kind of rig, from sim racing cockpits and steering wheels to monitor stands and full simulator packages.
Is a professional sim setup worth the investment?
For Verstappen, the answer is obviously yes. His simulator sessions have a direct impact on race results. For amateur sim racers and esports competitors, the same logic applies at a smaller scale. Better hardware gives better feedback. Better feedback leads to faster learning. Faster learning leads to better lap times.
The key is not to copy Verstappen's exact setup but to understand what each component does and why it matters. A high-quality steering wheel teaches you about understeer and oversteer through force feedback. A good sim racing cockpit locks your body into the right position so your inputs stay consistent. A proper sim racing chair supports your posture during long sessions so fatigue doesn't creep into your driving.
Where should you start if you want a serious sim rig?
Start with the foundation. A rigid cockpit and a direct drive wheel are the two upgrades that make the biggest difference, and everything else builds on top of that. At SIMGASM, we help sim racers at every level find the right combination of components.
Frequently asked questions
Below are the most common questions about Max Verstappen's sim setup and what it means for your own rig.
How much does Max Verstappen's sim setup cost in total?
The total cost of Max Verstappen's sim setup is estimated between 100,000 and 200,000 euros. The motion platform alone accounts for the majority of that cost, sitting between 80,000 and 150,000 euros. The rest covers screens, cockpit, steering wheel, pedals, and computing hardware.
What motion platform does Max Verstappen use at home?
Verstappen uses a professional-grade motion simulator with multiple degrees of freedom. The exact brand is not publicly confirmed, but the system is comparable to professional platforms used by Formula 1 teams. These systems simulate lateral forces, braking pressure, and surface vibrations to replicate real car feel.
Can you build a sim setup similar to Verstappen's for less money?
You can build a high-quality sim rig for between 3,000 and 10,000 euros that shares the same priorities as Verstappen's setup. Focus on a direct drive wheel, load cell pedals, a rigid cockpit, and a proper sim racing seat. That combination delivers the most realistic feel without the professional price tag.
What steering wheel does Max Verstappen use in his home simulator?
Verstappen uses a custom steering wheel that closely mirrors the layout of his Red Bull F1 wheel. It connects to a high-torque direct drive base. The exact brand is not officially disclosed, but direct drive systems from Simucube and similar manufacturers match the performance level he requires for serious training.
Would you like to find out more, or buy the right equipment for your sim racing adventure straight away? If so, the experts at SIMGASM will be happy to help.
