When a young Max Verstappen was forced to sleep on a 'sort of a stretcher'

It almost feels like a lifetime ago since the then-young Dutchman first took his steps into Formula 1 twelve years ago, when he took part in a series of FP1 sessions with Toro Rosso before becoming a full-time race driver from 2015 onwards. Speaking to Formule 1 Magazine, the Dutchman’s manager recalled a funny moment from the night before Verstappen first took to the track in São Paulo for a Formula 1 practice session.

At the time, the group was operating on an extremely limited budget and ended up sharing a single hotel room, with Verstappen sleeping on a makeshift stretcher placed at the foot of the bed while Jos Verstappen and Vermeulen stayed in the same room. He then revealed that after he and Jos returned later that evening following a drink, they accidentally made enough noise to wake up a young Verstappen, who immediately reminded them to keep things quiet because he had to drive an F1 car the following day.

Asked how the father of the four-time world champion reacted to his son’s request, Vermeulen added: "A little along the lines of, 'Don't whine, everything will be fine.' That does show how we did it, we depended on each other. We just had a lot of fun.”

After a difficult opening stretch to the 2026 season, Verstappen heads to Miami hoping Red Bull can finally begin to turn things around following a month-long break away from Formula 1 action. The RB22 has so far failed to provide the level of competitiveness expected from the Milton Keynes-based team, leaving Verstappen unable to regularly challenge the frontrunners despite flashes of strong performance from the power unit side.

The Dutchman spent the April break far from inactive, taking part in two Nordschleife appearances before returning to Silverstone on April 22 for a key filming day aimed at testing and understanding new developments brought by Red Bull.

Looking ahead to Miami, Verstappen explained that the team has used the long pause to work extensively on identifying solutions for the RB22’s current weaknesses, while also admitting it felt important to get back into the car and regain rhythm ahead of Formula 1’s return. The four-time world champion also expressed optimism that Red Bull can take a step forward in Florida and potentially reduce the gap to the teams currently leading the championship.