Max Verstappen F1 curse emerges ahead of Belgian Grand Prix - and it's not Drake

Max Verstappen in Budapest — Photo: © IMAGO

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Verstappen curse emerges ahead of Belgium - and it's not Drake

The Red Bull driver has not had his best spell of late

Rhys Thomas

Wednesday 24 July 2024 21:00

By his ludicrously lofty standards, Max Verstappen has had a miserable past three races in F1 - and perhaps now we know why.

The Red Bull ace won seven of the first 10 races of 2024 and looked set to continue his ruthless domination of the sport for another season.

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But since his win in Spain, he has been in a world of pain, finishing a lowly fifth in Austria and Hungary and only managing second in Britain.

He was involved in, and perhaps at fault for, collisions in both Spielberg and Budapest, and at the latter he was incensed at everything from his strategy to the stewards. Could it be because he has been cursed?

Max Verstappen has not won in three races

The Red Bull driver collided with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary

When will Max Verstappen win again?

The three-time champion has not gone four races without a win since 2020. Perhaps fortunately, the Belgian Grand Prix - where he has won in each of the last three seasons - is up next.

However, will a track he loves be enough to dispel a 'curse' which fans suggest could have been placed on him.

Perhaps the most notorious sports curse is the 'Drake curse', after several teams and athletes backed by the artists such as the Toronto Rapids and Anthony Joshua suffered defeats and poor form.

Argentina may have broken the curse with their 2022 FIFA World Cup win over France, and it is a soccer-related 'curse' which could be affecting Verstappen.

On July 7, English club Leeds United posted a photo showing Verstappen and some of the squad, the driver holding up a white shirt with his name on it.

One fan pointed out on social media that Verstappen has not won since the meeting with the players. Clearly, this is the reason for Verstappen's mini-drought (not the off-track issues at Red Bull or pace of rivals).

When you realise that Max Verstappen hasn't won a single race since he met the Leeds players 😶 #LUFC https://t.co/UGlmKBHRCX
— Billy 🪩 (@_billyreid) July 22, 2024

The meeting occurred when Leeds visited Red Bull at the British Grand Prix, where Verstappen appeared to seriously struggle for pace for the first time in 2024.

That factor repeated itself two weeks later at the Hungaroring. Leeds are infamous amongst soccer fans for 'choking' promising positions, and appeared to be cursed to remain out of the English top division until their brief return between 2020-2023.

Since, the club have resumed normal service, losing the play-off final to Southampton to compound themselves to another season in the second tier. Can Verstappen break his 'curse' in Belgium, or will normal winning service return for the 26-year-old? Only time will tell.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton F1 Belgian Grand Prix Hungarian GP