Jeremy Clarkson’s Max Verstappen verdict after two hours ‘stuck’ with him at Silverstone
Formula 1 fan Jeremy Clarkson is a regular attendee of the British Grand Prix and, on his latest visit to the Silverstone paddock, told a tale of time spent with Max Verstappen
Jeremy Clarkson was in the F1 paddock at Silverstone with partner Lisa Hogan(Image: Robbie Hoad/Every Second Media/Shutterstock)
Jeremy Clarkson told a story about being “stuck in a little tiny room with Max Verstappen for two hours” as he appeared in the Formula 1 paddock at Silverstone. The TV legend is a regular visitor to the British Grand Prix and this year was no different as he strode into the paddock with partner Lisa Hogan, just two weeks after confirming he is now in remission after receiving treatment for prostate cancer.
This time, the pair were guests of the Alpine team after a deal struck between the outfit and Diddly Squat Farm. Produce from the farm, made famous through the Amazon show Clarkson’s Farm, fed and watered Alpine team staff including its drivers throughout the British GP weekend.
Clarkson spent some time with Alpine staff and also appeared on the grid before the race, where Mirror Sport witnessed him speaking to presenters and camera crews from several different television stations from around the world who were desperate to get a few words from the former Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter.
After that, it was a hasty exit from Clarkson and Hogan who did not stick around to watch the whole race in person. Instead, they made a swift retreat to their car so they could beat the long traffic queues heading away from the circuit and, while walking, he spoke to a member of the Alpine social media team.
Describing his brief return to the Silverstone paddock as “heavenly”, Clarkson told the brief story about Verstappen as he explained why he had not planned to stick around to watch the full Grand Prix, despite having the sort of access that most F1 fans could only dream of.
He said: “We’ll shut down now on social media, go home and watch the last 20 laps on TV there, and then we’re not stuck in a traffic jam. Because last year I was stuck in a little tiny room with Max Verstappen for two hours. He’s a lovely guys, he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. But it’s back to the farm now.”
Verstappen certainly wasn’t in a good mood for much of this year’s British GP weekend. He was already talking about how he was looking forward to going home after Saturday’s Sprint race, in which he struggled for pace and bemoaned the engine issues he felt hampered his performance both in that short-form race and also Grand Prix qualifying a few hours later.
Max Verstappen had a tough weekend at Silverstone(Image: ANP/Shutterstock)
His Sunday only got worse as he crashed out of the Grand Prix a few laps from the end, losing control at a high-speed corner and spinning off track where his Red Bull got beached in gravel. He swore several times over the radio and declared: “I hate this f*****g car”.
Verstappen had crashed a week earlier in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix and, like on that occasion, the cause was deemed to be a failure on the rear wing of his car which failed to close properly as he entered the corner. He said: “It’s super-dangerous because you can really hurt yourself two times. I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here. That’s why you get really fed up with it.”