Max Verstappen is no stranger to battling a McLaren driver on track – whether it be in Formula 1 or even in the virtual world.The reigning four-time F1 world champion has blazed a trail for motorsports’ elite to become a dominant force in sim racing as well.Verstappen excels both in F1 and virtual racingGettyThe Red Bull star made countless headlines during the first half of last season for his stints of sim racing that clashed with F1 weekends.Verstappen won the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola after his Redline team took first in the virtual Nurburgring 24-hour race.He later sparked controversy when he finished fifth at the Hungarian Grand Prix months later amid several agitated outbursts, having been seen up at 3am that morning while taking part in an online race.Red Bull chief Helmut Marko claimed Verstappen was banned from late-night events, something which the driver later denied.What is true is that Brit starlet Taylor Barnard, who competes in Formula E for McLaren, has picked up bans from online game lobbies.During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT Driving, the 21-year-old confessed that he and McLaren reserve driver, Alex Dunne, shared Verstappen’s philosophy that ‘the competition is just as hard as real life’.Barnard said: “When we do sim racing, part of that is trying to have fun and fight with each other on track. “We did get into a bit of a situation where we shouldn’t have been driving so aggressively. “I wouldn’t say that what we did was horrendous, honestly, it’s nothing you don’t see in Formula E every day.”Barnard’s virtual tussles have also seen him cross paths with Verstappen, as has seemingly become custom for a McLaren driver.In F1, Verstappen is no stranger from going wheel-to-wheel with a McLaren driverGettyLive Formula E on TS2 this weekendSATURDAY 26th JULY17:00pm – Live commentary of Round 15 of the Formula E World Championship in London, talkSPORT 2Commentary from Lewis McGlade with Saunders Carmichael-Brown at ExCeL Centre in LondonSUNDAY 27th JULY17:00pm – Live commentary of Round 16 of the Formula E World Championship in London, talkSPORT 2Commentary from Lewis McGlade with Jon Jackson at ExCeL Centre in LondonThe latter racked up penalties for collisions with Lando Norris last year on track, but the battles with papaya racers continued at home.Barnard added: “I race against Max quite often actually – there’ve been a few times where we just pop into the same lobby as each other, have a random fight and then we leave and we never speak about it. “To be able to have that kind of experience with Max, I think, is amazing. “And to be able to race so closely and spend a lot of time racing someone with that kind of experience, it means a lot. “Not only that I can keep up, and I can fight him, but also to be able to spend that time with someone like him. “That’s an opportunity that you wouldn’t be able to get if wasn’t for sim racing.”Barnard will race for McLaren in their final Formula E entry before their series exitGettyBarnard has not just been impressing in the virtual world, having bagged five podiums, two pole positions and a fastest lap this season.The Norwich-born star followed the same pathway as most en route to reaching F1 after debuting in the two junior categories before.However, Barnard made the bold decision to branch out and test himself in Formula’s electric-racing series for 2024/25.On making the jump from F2 to Formula E, he added: “I don’t speak to a lot of the F2 drivers – I think a lot of them are very very focused on F1 and perhaps a little bit closed-minded. “I think Formula E is a great championship to come into – I’m personally loving it, of course, I’m doing well, so I’m going to be a bit biased.”Barnard will now hope to cap off his first year by finishing second in the F3 championship at the season finale at London’s ExCeL Centre.It’s McLaren’s final weekend in the series before the F1 constructors’ kings pull out to focus on the 2027 World Endurance Championship.As such, it would prove extra special to Barnard if he could deliver his first victory at the season-ending London E-Prix, live on talkSPORT 2.He said: “I want to finish second [in the championship] because that’s the best I possibly can, but if I can be in the top three in my rookie season, that would be mission complete, I would say. “If I could win a race, that would also be amazing – but the ultimate goal is to finish second in the championship.”Live motorsport returns to talkSPORT2 this weekend with exclusive commentary of the final weekend of the Formula E World Championship in London.Britain’s Oliver Rowland clinched the World Championship in Berlin, but his work isn’t done there as his Nissan team battle it out with Porsche for the Teams championship at ExCeL Centre in East London.Join us on talkSPORT2 for exclusive commentary from 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons – and for a full race preview, check out talkSPORT’s motorsports YouTube channel – talkSPORT Driving.