Max Verstappen has always been against competing in the Indy 500 as he considers it too dangerous. Even though he has the highest respect for all drivers that compete in this competition, he did laugh at one of the racers once. The Dutchman expressed his disbelief after watching former Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud perform one of the “stupidest acts,” as revealed by Lando Norris in his biography, Lando Norris: A Biography.
Verstappen made his comments after Norris told him about an incident he had with Pagenaud while competing in a virtual Indy 500 race. During this race, Pagenaud deliberately crashed into the Briton, who was leading the race. Since Pagenaud was recorded live, stating that he wanted to take Norris out, Verstappen called out the Frenchman.
The Red Bull driver referred to Pagenaud as “stupid” for revealing live that he was planning to crash into Norris. Verstappen believes that if someone is planning to commit such an act, then they should never record it.
Max Verstappen calls out Simon Pagenaud for his “stupidest” act
In the Lando Norris: A Biography, Lando Norris expressed his frustrations with Simon Pagenaud after the Frenchman deliberately crashed into him during the Indy 500 race. The Briton referred to Pagenaud as “salty,” stating that the 39-year-old could not bear the fact that a non-Indy car driver was winning the race.
When Norris told Max Verstappen about this incident, the Dutchman replied, “This is really the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. How stupid to say live that you are going to crash someone? If you’re planning something like that, you don’t say it live!”
Even though some of the top F1 drivers take pride in racing in IndyCar, Verstappen has never thought about doing the same. The Red Bull driver made these remarks earlier this year after former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson had won the oval race.
Verstappen reveals why he does not want to race in IndyCar
Even though Max Verstappen has undoubtedly established himself as one of the best F1 drivers of all time, he is yet to showcase his class in other forms of motorsports. Most motorsports drivers often aim to win the Triple Crown to prove their versatility.
This unofficial achievement is received by a driver who not only wins the F1 Monaco Grand Prix but also the Indy500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since Verstappen has won the Monaco GP, he now needs to win the other two races to clinch this historic achievement. However, as per his remarks, he has no intention of doing so.
When asked about his remarks on IndyCar, the Dutchman replied (as quoted by espn.in), “I don’t need to risk my life there and potentially injure myself, your legs, whatever.” However, he did state that endurance racing does interest him and that he may consider racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sometime in the future.
