Are you 24 or older?

Help us verify your age by providing an honest response. This site contains gambling advertising for 24+.

Age-restricted content

You’re not old enough to view betting content. You’ll be redirected to the homepage.

alt
LiveTickets
Max VerstappenGetty Images
SID
Translated by

"I could slip and break my neck": Formula 1 star Max Verstappen weighs in on the safety debate

For Max Verstappen, life's dangers extend beyond the racetrack.

"I can go back to the hotel tonight. I'm going to have a shower, but if it's slippery, I might slip and break my neck," the four-time Formula 1 world champion said ahead of Sunday's Miami Grand Prix (10:00 pm CEST, Sky), then added: "Cycling through Amsterdam can be even trickier." After all, he added, he could "be hit by a bus" while doing so.

  • The safety debate was sparked by a journalist's question about last Sunday's rally accident involving Verstappen's father, Jos. The 54-year-old Dutchman, alongside co-driver Jasper Vermeulen, veered off the track in his Skoda during the fourth round of the Belgian Rally Championship, grazed a tree in a fast left-right bend, and rolled his car.

    • Advertisement

  • Both passengers walked away unharmed from the crash.

    Social-media photos showed the wrecked car at the side of the track, yet both occupants escaped unharmed. "It was a heavy crash, but it proves we're in safe cars. I'm glad we came out unscathed," Verstappen said afterwards.

    "There are always dangers in many things you do," his son Max said. "But yes, racing is still dangerous." The fact that he sits in a supposedly very safe car in Formula 1 makes no difference. "You can simply hit something at the wrong angle. It doesn't help how safe the cars are." Sometimes you "just have bad luck."

    • ENJOYED THIS STORY?

    Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

    Add as preferred source on Google