The reason why Max Verstappen doesn't blink while driving an F1 car has emerged after footage of him behind the wheel of a Formula One simulator resurfaced online.
The four-time world champion was recorded playing on an F1 simulator around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. But to the surprise of some Reddit users, the Red Bull driver did not blink once during a 21 second clip that has recently gone viral.
Carcinog3n wrote: "Most people don't blink enough when they are playing games on a close computer screen."
But not everyone was impressed.
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FriskyTangoFoxtrot commented: "I mean... this is a video game."
Steve Midnight replied: "Genuine question: do you know who Max Verstappen is?
"Probably the best driver in the world. He is also a competitive sim racer. Blinking at the wrong moment during a real race or a sim race can easily cause a wreck, losing the race and $$$."
Some of the replies were more light-hearted.
"I watched this whole clip without blinking," Lightbelow added. "Am I an F1 driver now?"
Why do some F1 drivers not blink while racing?
When you blink, you lose you vision for about one-fifth of a second.
And for F1 drivers, who can reach speeds of up to 354 kilometres (220 miles) per hour, this means losing sight for up to 20 metres.
As people typically blink up to 30 times each minutes, a driver could miss out on nearly 600 metres if they blinked at a normal rate.
Brain researcher Ryota Nishizono studied the phenomenon and concluded that even a small mistake could be life-threatening for the driver at that speed
To examine how drivers blink during races, scientists put eye trackers on the helmets of three drivers, who raced for more than 300 laps across three different F1 circuits.
They found that they tend to blink in the same places on each lap, which were typically on the safer, straighter parts of the track.
Drivers need to balance the sight they lose when they choose to blink, with blinking enough to ensure their eyes remain sufficiently moist.
When is Verstappen's next race?
Verstappen returns to Formula 1 action this Sunday at the Canadian GP.
After a controversial 10th-placed finish at the Spanish GP in which the Dutchman received a 10 second penalty for causing a collision, the Red Bull star needs a strong showing in Canada.
He currently sits third in the drivers championship behind the McLaren drivers, 47 points behind the leader Oscar Piastri and 37 behind Lando Norris.
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Motorsport
James Taylor