Verstappen: "I don't know how people suddenly link that"

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of speculation over the fact that Max Verstappen stopped following his team Red Bull Racing and Honda on Instagram. There are suggestions that the 23-year-old Dutchman would have done so because he wasn't happy about the Honda engine suppliers leaving but, at the Nürburgring, Verstappen admitted that this is nonsense.

"That was a few weeks ago, because I didn't want to read Formula 1 news," said Verstappen prior to the German Grand Prix at the Red Bull press event. "I don't know how people suddenly link that. I think it is to create some drama. Yes, that's very often the case, nonsense. That is 90% of the time."

Verstappen says that he received notifications on his mobile phone when he was tagged in various posts. "I thought: I'll stop for a while. All videos, a ranking here, a ranking there...that's not the reason why I'm in Formula 1. When I'm on Instagram, I prefer to watch other sports. I like that much more," he explained.

Removing social media completely is not necessary to escape all F1 reporting, said Verstappen. "You just can't open it, it's not that difficult", says the nine-time Grand Prix winner, who now follows Red Bull and Honda on the platform. "At one point there was so much drama, then I started following everything again. Then I don't look at Instagram."