Max Verstappen says that he was pleased to have time away from Formula 1 throughout April after falling ill last month in Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen missed Thursday’s media commitments in Jeddah but returned to the paddock on Friday to complete the race weekend.
However, after the event, he stated that he felt he was “missing a lung” and felt he was “physically limited” behind the wheel.
The Dutchman was in an improved state for the following round in Melbourne, and then used the April break to recover further.
“I think it was good for me,” Verstappen said of the break. “In Jeddah, I didn’t really feel well and it really affected my physique.
“So for me, those three weeks were really good to get back into 100 per cent fitness.
“It was great to have those three weeks at home, really relaxed, but also to really work on that. That’s why I think coming here, I’m finally fully fit again.”
Verstappen won the race in Melbourne and enters the race weekend from Jeddah as the reigning victor around the circuit.
This time around, he will have to contend with an alternate weekend format as the sprint schedule has been re-jigged further to include two qualifying sessions.
With less time to prepare before jumping into competitive sessions, Verstappen says it will be a high-intensity weekend.
“I think overall, it should be quite alright for us,” he said. “But because of the layout of the event now, with the sprint format, there are a few more question marks I think.
“Only one free practice, if you don’t get it right there, you might struggle a little bit in qualifying. That puts you a little bit on the back foot for the race. We’ll see, I’m just hoping to have a clean weekend, get on top of the car.
“Normally the sprint weekends have been quite alright for us, in terms of setting up the car. But it can sometimes be hit and miss.
“I won’t forget last year in Brazil where it was a miss, but mainly it’s been a good one. But it definitely is a bit more difficult.”
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