Max Verstappen recently appeared in an interview for Pirelli where host Tom Clarkson brought up the topic of how drivers get a huge amount of adrenaline when they are racing. Since the drivers are not able to get that when they are on break, Clarkson asked Verstappen if he takes part in any adventure sports to fill in for F1’s adrenaline rush.
Verstappen replied that he simply uses F1’s breaks to relax. However, he did admit that maybe seven or eight years ago, he would have performed some activity to get the missing adrenaline. Talking about the present day, he explained,
“I think slowly you really want to take your rest, and yeah, you don’t think about racing too much. And you take your time off. But, yeah when you jump back in the Formula 1 car, you know it is going to be quick”.
Are you prepared for a quick pit stop into the world of Formula 1®
In the very first episode of “Box, Box, Box” Max Verstappen, Nikolas Tombazis and Andrea Stella talk about speed with Tom Clarkson.Watch the full episode: https://t.co/PUMb6GRkpM
— Pirelli (@Pirelli) October 11, 2024
While Verstappen likes to use his breaks to relax, other drivers such as Lewis Hamilton desperately try to find activities to fill in the missing adrenaline. The 39-year-old once admitted that he is an “adrenaline junkie” and finds it difficult to adjust to the ‘lows’ after a race weekend.
In an interview that went viral last year, he had said, “I am an adrenaline junkie. During races, you have these highs, and then after the next couple of days, you are just crashing down. Then you pick a low, and you have to pick yourself back up”.
Hamilton has revealed that he has a huge passion for adventure sports such as skiing, surfing, skydiving and even parasailing. However, when it comes to Verstappen, he is more than happy to use his breaks to spend time with the family and take part in sim racing.
How does Verstappen spend his life away from the track?
During F1’s most recent summer break, Verstappen went on holiday to Portugal with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet, her daughter Penelope, and a few of their friends. The Dutchman seemed to have enjoyed his time off, as per the stories Piquet shared via her Instagram account.
It was a much-needed vacation for Verstappen after a difficult 2024 season so far, with Red Bull no longer having the quickest car for some time now. While Verstappen enjoys his holidays when he has longer breaks, he usually takes part in sim racing in between race weekends.
The 27-year-old is so passionate about the same that he has competed in both sim racing and an F1 Grand Prix during the same race weekend on two occasions this year. At one point, his sim racing became such an issue that reports emerged that Red Bull had banned him from competing in the same when there is an F1 race the same weekend.
