Kids: they like the video games, don't they? Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World. Starwing and the original Mario Kart. Those are the games the kids are playing these days.Ah, okay, maybe I'm hugely out of touch (if you want proper games writing by people who know their stuff, you'd be better off with VICE Gaming). It seems that kids these days are playing significantly more advanced games. And in some cases, they're helping real-life athletes to hone their skills.Take 17-year-old Max Verstappen, the Youngest F1 Driver Ever™, who is competing for the Toro Rosso team this season. The Dutchman has earned plenty of praise during his rookie campaign, not least for his brave and (usually) successful overtaking manoeuvres. The below move on Felipe Nasr at Spa was especially sweet.But despite being the son of an ex-F1 driver dad and karting champion mum, it's not all genetics. Speaking to Autosport, the youngster explained that sim-racing had helped him develop his overtaking prowess.Since July, Verstappen has been working with sim-racers Redline — who call themselves "the world's most successful sim racing team" — to prepare for upcoming grands prix. He explained that some of his recent real-life overtakes have been replicas of moves he's made on a virtual circuit."I think it helps me. I mean I did it for Spa and I did it again for Monza and two times it worked on the real track," he said, referring to the two most recent grands prix."The overtake I did on Nasr, I did exactly the same in the sim again.""It's always good because you know how much space you have"."Also on sim-racing, sometimes you go a bit too far and you know that you can't do it [in reality]."And it's hard to disagree with that — better to wreck a non-existent virtual car by smashing into a virtual wall than destroying a real and very expensive car by hitting a real and very bloody hard wall.The connection between sim and real racing is nothing new. The GT Academy series has already transformed several gamers into professional racing drivers, including Britain's Jann Mardenborough. F1 drivers also make extensive use of simulators, though these tend to be less focussed on overtaking moves and more about simulating setup changes.This is altogether more tangible for fans, and could even have potential for an online crossover between sim-racing and the real thing. So, will F1's 84-year-old billionaire boss Bernie Ecclestone be taking the sport in a new direction soon? Alas, we wouldn't count on it: the old boy's probably still playing Space Invaders.
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