Max Verstappen injured his elbow practicing simulated racing for the Austrian Grand Prix due to severe force input from his wheel. This weekend, the Red Bull star aims to make it three consecutive victories in Speilberg. He will be grateful for his good health.
The three-time world champion was live-streaming his sim-racing escapades to his followers when he wrecked during a race. The force feedback from the accident pulled the wheel out of his hand, and Verstappen collided with his elbow just out of shot. The Dutchman was visibly distressed after the accident, and he leaned over in discomfort.
After the immediate impact agony had subsided, he shouted, “Ah, my elbow!” Oh, my God. Ow! “What the hell…?” He immediately took a lighter tone, laughing and saying, “Injury!” Injury! What happened? “Lmp3 Monza.”
Verstappen’s injury would have come at the worst possible time. The Dutch driver is hindering Red Bull’s Constructors’ Championship title chances. The three-time world champion has won three of the last five Grands Prix, but his team has not had the fastest car on any of those occasions.
Verstappen may struggle in upcoming races at Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, as Lando Norris and McLaren are widely seen as favorites and Mercedes is gaining ground.
“I have been saying for weeks that we need to bring more performance to our car and everyone in the team knows that as well,” Verstappen revealed after the race in Barcelona. “So far, it appears that everyone around us is providing more updates than we do.
“Of course, we have to work on it, and we also need to improve the performance of our own car. At the present, we simply lack speed. The margin to Checo is quite large, which I believe says a lot because I do not believe Checo has become any worse.”
