Max Verstappen missed the traditional Thursday press session in Jeddah two weeks ago due to ill health, but the Red Bull Racing driver was already on track on Friday and made no mention of his health over the weekend. In Melbourne, during the FIA press conference, Max said he felt much worse on the last stage than it appears from the outside.
Max Verstappen: “I myself refused to believe it for a long time. At home I was very sick – so much so that I could barely walk. I felt like I was missing a lung!
I arrived on stage and thought everything was over. Usually I am fine and able to work two or three days after the illness, but when I got behind the wheel in Jeddah for the first training session, after the first fast lap I realized that I had to do two slow laps to get the normal restore breathing. The illness definitely took its toll last weekend and I didn’t like it.
The race was one of the first in which I felt my physical limitations. This really upset me. After the weekend I continued to work on recovery and now I think I have noticeably improved. This weekend everything should be fine.
The job in Jeddah is quite difficult, and if you feel bad it will greatly affect your skills. You can catch the virus at any time, but I hope that by the end of the year everything will be fine with me.
The upcoming three-week break for the next phase will allow you to get back to your usual training regimen, so in a way it’s good that it will be that way. But usually, when I’m feeling good, I’d rather race. It’s still a bit strange to get a three week break, especially at the start of the season.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
