DECEMBER 3, 2020

Verstappen covid-negative after Hamilton contact

Max Verstappen has tested negative for covid-19 following concerns he was a 'close contact' of world champion Lewis Hamilton's last week.

Podium, Bahrain GP 2020
© Red Bull

Max Verstappen has tested negative for covid-19 following concerns he was a 'close contact' of world champion Lewis Hamilton's last week.

The Dutchman shared podium celebrations and a press conference with the Mercedes driver last Sunday in Bahrain, one day before Hamilton tested positive for the famous virus.

"Like all his previous tests this season, the result of the Red Bull driver's test on Wednesday was negative," correspondent Erik van Haren told De Telegraaf.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Verstappen has continued his run of controversial recent comments by lashing the official Formula 1 Netflix series Drive To Survive.

The Dutchman told his sponsor G-Star RAW that he recently enjoyed watching a documentary about Michael Jordan, but "I always find it difficult to empathise with those things".

"Especially if you are not closely involved. They can just make everything look a little better. You can make it more beautiful than it is," said Verstappen.

"For example, Drive To Survive involves a lot of faking," he alleged. "There are very heavy edits in the conversations.

"You can tell from what I'm discussing with my engineers. Some of the things I said at the beginning of the season in Australia, and some of the things I said in Austria later on were stitched together in one episode.

"They they used that for another grand prix to make it a bit more exciting."

Verstappen said real life in the Formula 1 paddock is not as glamorous as is depicted, because "everyone knows everyone - it's actually quite small".

"There's not all that much glamour."

(GMM)