Jun.18 (GMM) While many of his Formula 1 rivals swapped overalls for formal wear on Monday, quadruple world champion Max Verstappen stuck with his overalls and helmet.
The ‘who’s who’ of the F1 paddock jetted straight from Montreal to New York, to join Brad Pitt and other Hollywood luminaries for the glitzy premiere of the sport’s new feature movie.
Verstappen, though – having also snubbed the recent private Monaco screening of the ‘F1’ film – instead headed to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
Late on Monday evening, while the New York event was in full swing, the Red Bull driver’s private plane touched down at Flamierge airport – not far from Spa.
On Tuesday, he was up and testing at the wheel of the ‘Verstappen.com Racing’-branded Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car, reportedly helping to prepare his team for the forthcoming 24 hours of Spa.
“I also sincerely hope that it is a good and successful film and that it has a positive effect on Formula 1,” Verstappen had said after Sunday’s Canadian GP.
“You just shouldn’t force me to go somewhere, because that’s not quite how it should be.”
The 27-year-old’s name was not far from the lips of those on the red carpet in New York, however. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff continued to tread the very thin line between lambasting Red Bull and continuing to leave the door open for Verstappen.
Wolff called Red Bull’s post-Canadian GP protest against George Russell’s driving behind the safety car “ridiculous” and “petty”.
But both Wolff and Russell made clear Verstappen was not involved in the decision.
“I know 100 percent that Max was not behind this, because I know for sure that he would never choose to protest something so unimportant,” Wolff said.
Russell, also in New York, agreed: “I don’t think even Max knew about the protests.”
It’s an awkward situation for Russell, however, as he is the one most likely to be ousted if Verstappen does indeed leave Red Bull ahead of the huge 2026 regulation change.
Wolff defended his decision to leave Russell’s contract unextended for now.
“It’s just a question of timing when we will sort these things out,” he said.
“Now we have the triple weekends – back-to-back races in June and July – but we will manage it. George has been in the Mercedes junior program since he was 16, so whether he wins a race or what kind of performance he has will have no bearing on the decision.
“We know exactly what he is capable of,” Wolff added.
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