MELBOURNE, Australia – Max Verstappen revealed that he had felt physically limited in the cockpit of his Red Bull Formula One car during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend as he struggled to recover from a virus.
The illness had caused the world champion to arrive a day late at the event, forcing him to miss his usual Thursday media commitments. He joined the race weekend with the opening practice session on Friday.
Despite a setback in qualifying due to a driveshaft failure that placed him 15th on the grid, Verstappen managed to finish the race in second place, just behind his teammate Sergio Perez.
Although he had played down the illness while in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen later admitted how much he had been struggling throughout the weekend.
“I refused to believe it myself for a long time because at home I was really ill – I could barely walk around and it felt like I was missing a lung,” he said ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
“I got to the weekend really believing the illness was gone, because normally after two or three days you feel better and can train again. But when I got in the car for FP1, even one performance lap left me needing two laps just to breathe normally.”
He acknowledged that the illness had affected his performance and said it was one of the first times he felt physically limited in the car — something he found deeply frustrating.
By the time he arrived in Australia, Verstappen said he had made a full recovery.
“Since then, I had been working on my fitness, and it definitely improved. Jeddah was just unfortunate timing with the virus, but hopefully I’d stay healthy for the rest of the year.”
