Verstappen reveals: 'I was so sick it felt like I was missing a lung'

F1 News

Verstappen sicker than thought Saudi Arabia
30 March 2023 at 06:37
Last update 30 March 2023 at 08:51
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen was nevertheless sicker during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix than he initially thought. During the press conference for the Australian Grand Prix, the Dutchman revealed that he had a pretty tough time in the car during the previous race.

Because the China Grand Prix has fallen away from the schedule, there is a long break on the calendar after this weekend. The next race is still a month away. For Verstappen, this break comes at a welcome time. The stomach flu the two-time world champion was suffering from prior to the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix turned out to be a bit more severe than initially thought.

"I got really ill and just been struggling a bit since that time," Verstappen explained. "Especially last race out. So for me now, the three weeks it's just getting back to like full fitness getting a full program in. So in a way, it's probably nice now, but normally if you just feel well I would also prefer to to keep racing."

Verstappen's illness was quite intense

The race weekend in Saudi Arabia hit Verstappen much harder than could be seen from a distance. "At home I was really ill, like I could barely just walk around and I felt like I was just missing a lung. And yeah, I got to the weekend really believing that it was gone because normally when you get sick, like two, three days after you're normally alright. But then when I jumped in the car in FP1, even just one performance lap, I felt like I had to recover for two laps to be able to breathe normally. it definitely did affect me throughout the weekend which I didn't like because it was like one of the first races where I just felt like I was physically limited and that's really frustrating when you're out in the car. But since then I've been trying to work on it, so this weekend should be alright."