Red Bull bans Verstappen from 'dangerous sports'

Dec.6 (GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted that he is banned from taking part in various “dangerous sports” when he’s away from the world’s Formula 1 circuits.

At the recent Honda Thanks Day at the Motegi circuit in Japan, the triple world champion demonstrated a Red Bull F1 car and went wheel-to-wheel in a kart race.

But he told MotoGP legend Marc Marquez that he is banned from trying a racing motorcycle.

And not just that. As the ten-year anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s 2013 skiing fall approaches, triple world champion Verstappen, 26, is also forbidden by Red Bull from winter sports.

“Yes, that’s sad of course,” Verstappen told the Dutch magazine Formule 1 when asked about Schumacher’s long-term brain injuries.

“On the other hand, you can also slip in the shower and break your neck. There is risk in anything,” he said.

“But to answer your question, I haven’t skied in five years because of the risk of breaking or twisting something with all of the consequences that come from that,” Verstappen revealed.

“Of course I understand that because there are still years to come in which I have a great chance of becoming champion again and winning races,” he said. “If you think about that, you automatically take fewer risks.”

He confirmed that Red Bull has even memorialised his ban from risky activities in his contract. When told that some top football stars have clauses in their lucrative contracts, Verstappen agreed: “Me too.

“No dangerous sports.”

When asked if riding in his father’s rally car might also be considered a particularly dangerous activity, Verstappen laughed: “You could say that!

“But cycling is also dangerous. When I go cycling, I always wear a helmet. But rallying, at 180kph through the trees, is not something I see myself doing.

“Maybe in a remote place. But yes, I do deal very consciously with risk.”