Max Verstappen caught driving one-handed during Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen has been caught on camera driving one-handed during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen took his hands off the wheel on multiple occasions around F1’s fastest street track while trying to remove a visor tear-off struck on his Red Bull car.

The revelation came from a clip released on F1’s official Twitter account in the hours following the race in Jeddah. He first stuck his hands out of the cockpit on the exit of turn three in an attempt to flick off the debris.

The 23-year-old was then seen flailing his hands out of the car on the exit of turn ten where Mick Schumacher had his horrific crash in qualifying. Moments later, Verstappen took his hands out of the car again on the fastest part of the track between turns 25 and 27. 

The Dutchman made one final attempt to grab the debris down the main straight in his fifth attempt. 

The incredible footage appears to herald back to the 1990s when F1 drivers were often forced to drive one-handed to change gear. It’s not the first time Verstappen has had his concentration diverted while behind the wheel of his car.

Back in 2020, Verstappen gave Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley a wave while doing a practice start ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

He said: “Jonathan, did you see that? I gave you a friendly wave during the start.” The reigning champion has had a mixed start to the 2022 season in his bid to retain his crown.

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He was forced to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix after a fuel pump issue with his Red Bull. However, he avenged the issues with a win in Jeddah after a titanic battle with Charles Leclerc.

The pair are now separated by 20 points in the driver’s standings in a battle that could run the distance this season.

After the race, Verstappen said: “It was a tough and crazy race today. I had a lot of fun battling with Charles again, I really enjoyed it and it’s not easy to get past him, patience is always key, especially if you want to fight for the Championship. In the beginning it was pretty difficult to follow but I think once we swapped to the hard tyre we were able to push more and the pace was better.

“We played the long game on the tyres which seemed to pay off. Towards the end of the race it felt like we were doing lots of quali laps, which was intense but really cool. Ultimately, we were able to win and we can be very proud of that as a team. It wasn’t easy out there, but I think we maximised all that we could today.”

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