Max Verstappen has revealed he felt like he was “missing a lung” during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, but “should be alright” ahead of this week’s race in Melbourne.
Verstappen missed the pre-race media duties in Jeddah two weeks ago due to a stomach bug but appeared to have no significant issues in the car as he topped all three practice sessions.
“I refused to believe it myself for a long time because at home I was really ill, like I could barely just walk around and I felt like I was missing a lung,” Verstappen told the press.
“I got to the weekend really believing that it was gone, because normally when you get sick, two or three days after you are normally alright, you can just do your workouts. But then when I jumped in 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.
“So it definitely did affect me throughout the weekend, which I didn’t like, because it was one of the first races where I Just felt like I was physically limited and that’s really frustrating when you’re out in the car.”
Verstappen leads the championship by one point after setting the fastest lap of the race in Jeddah, having fought for the extra point against Perez.
The Dutchman hinted that he should be back to normal this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, an event he has not won.
“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 normally this weekend should be alright,” he added.
“I think it was just all coming together in Jeddah. It is quite a tough track in general and when you don’t feel well, it hits hard on you. But, these things unfortunately happen – that you catch a virus and stuff. So, from now onwards, for the rest of the year, I should be okay.”
Following the Australian Grand Prix, there is a four-week gap until the next event, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 28-30.
The Chinese Grand Prix was set to take place in mid-April, but was cancelled and not replaced, which Verstappen now thinks will ensure he gets back to full fitness.
“A couple of weeks ago, I would say that I was not looking forward to it,” he explained. “But then I got really ill and I’ve just been struggling a bit since that time, especially last race out.
“So for me now these three weeks is just getting back to, like, full fitness, getting a full programme in. So, in a way, it’s probably nice now.
“Normally, if you just feel well, I think I would also prefer to keep racing. It has nothing to do with looking into the car, trying to make it faster. I think that’s a natural process. But it’s a bit weird to have three weeks off, especially that early in the season.”
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