'Drinking at the bar at 9am' – F1 rival lifts lid on Max Verstappen's title party in Las Vegas
Today at 11:13 AM
Max Verstappen quite literally partied all night long after winning the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in Las Vegas, according to George Russell.
The Red Bull driver clinched his fourth consecutive title by beating rival Lando Norris on the streets of Sin City last weekend, cementing his place as an F1 legend.
The grand prix finished around 11.30pm local time and the wild celebrations promptly began, with Verstappen attending the post-race press conference with a beer in hand.
Little is known about how exactly the Dutchman and his team marked the momentous victory, though the driver was visibly worse for wear during various TV interviews in the hours after taking the chequered flag.
‘Well, I ran out of beer. So yeah, I don’t know, maybe another one,’ he was quoted as saying during the celebrations.
‘And then maybe I switch to something else. I don’t need to drive anymore. So the slogan “don’t drink and drive” works very well. I don’t need to do that anymore!’
Thankfully for us, Russell, who won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, was able to reveal a little of what Verstappen had been up to, having spotted the 27-year-old the morning after the race.
‘I don’t think he saw me, but I saw him in the bar at nine in the morning when l was leaving for the airport,’ the Mercedes driver said ahead of this weekend’s race in Qatar.
‘He didn’t see me, he was, you know, nodding away…’
Verstappen suddenly appeared alongside Russell in the media pen and confirmed this before quipping: ‘I was very thirsty. It was 5pm somewhere!’
‘Russell replied: ‘Yeah so Max is a pro racing driver, pro FIFA player, paddle player, drinker. He ticks all the boxes. A man of many, many talents!’
Verstappen – gin and tonic in hand – appeared tipsy during a chat with Dutch TV on the night of the race and later struggled to mix a vodka and red bull when celebrating with Sky Sports Germany presenters.
Russell himself enjoyed a wild night of partying, cancelling his plans to fly out of Vegas early to celebrate his victory and heading to The Wynn casino at 2am, still dressed in his race overalls.
Verstappen is no stranger to a boozy night, previously revealing that he drank five gin and tonics on the night he won his third title in Qatar last year, before racing in the grand prix the next day.
This weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix will be a trickier affair however, with Red Bull expected to lose the constructors’ championship to either McLaren or Ferrari, with Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez off the pace in Friday practice.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
