Max Verstappen comes clean on his absence from Lewis Hamilton-produced Brad Pitt starrer "F1" movie's premier

Max Verstappen has revealed that the reason behind him skipping the Brad Pitt-starring movie preview was that he wanted to spend some time at home. The "F1" movie, which is produced by Lewis Hamilton and is based on the sport, premiered for the drivers on Wednesday, and almost the entire grid was present for it.

Some of the drivers that were notable absentees were Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. While the event was going on, the Dutch driver was streaming with his team, Redline, and sim racing. On Thursday, during the media sessions, the Red Bull driver was questioned why he wasn't present at the event, to which he said that he wanted to spend some time at home.

Talking about how he had already informed the FOM in advance, the driver emphasized that the tough schedule means drivers do not get much time at home anyway, and hence, he just wanted to be home. He told the media, including Sportskeeda:

"I told FOM way in advance that I would not be there that evening. They knew about that. I just wanted to spend more time at home. It wasn't a mandatory event either, it was just my private time. And I prefer to spend that private time at home, especially because in Formula 1 you're away from home so much already."

He added:

"Wanting to spend more time at home on days like that is pretty normal, I think. Now that the family is growing, then I definitely prefer to spend more time at home."

Currently, Verstappen will be hoping to capitalise on his victory in Imola and take his form to the challenging street circuit of Monaco.

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Max Verstappen looks ahead to the race in Monaco

Max Verstappen is coming to Monaco on the back of an impressive win in Imola. The track layout at the principality is, however, one that doesn't suit Red Bull as much as the race in Italy, and hence the team is expected to struggle a bit. Talking about the race, the driver touched on the importance of qualifying, as he said:

"It hasn't been our strongest track in the past, but we did make a step forward with the set up and we will try and do the best that we can. Again, qualifying is key here and we are reliant on strategy so it will be about getting a good result on Saturday and extracting the best possible performance of the car. It will also be nice to be close to home for this race, especially when it is such a hectic and busy weekend!" [via grandprix247]

Max Verstappen has closed down the gap to both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the championship, with the Dutch driver now only 22 points behind the leader. The race in Monaco might, however, be a case of damage control, as its aggressive curves might not be the best for the Red Bull.