Follow usMax Verstappen stated that he still feels the effects of the illness he contracted before the last race in Saudi Arabia, as the Dutchman is aiming for a first victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen finished P2 in Jeddah after a technical issue in qualifying send him back down the order and with the 1 point bonus from the fastest lap he finds himself ahead of his teammate in the Drivers Championship. However, the 25-year old has experienced some unpleasant after effects of his illness, picked up two weeks ago and said that he is looking forward to the upcoming three-week break before next race in Baku.
“It felt like I was just missing a lung, and I got to the weekend in Saudi Arabia really believing that it was gone because normally when you get sick like two, three days after, you’re normally alright – you know, you can just do your workouts – but then when I jumped into 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 one of the first races where I 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, trying to improve it, and I do think that it has improved a lot, so… this weekend should be alright,”
Verstappen is fully focused on clinching his first ever victory at Albert Park as he looks to put behind the bad memories from last year, where he had to retire with a technical issue while running second.
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