The 2024 Formula 1 season starts this month as the Bahrain Grand Prix begins on the 29 February where Max Verstappen will commence his championship defence.
Before then is also F1 pre-season testing (21-23 February) and car launches with reigning champions Red Bull being the last team to unveil its 2024 livery on the 15 February, meaning the off-season is quickly coming to an end.
So, in the two months since the 2023 Abu Dhabi season finale, what has each F1 driver been up to in this time off?
Max Verstappen
Verstappen still goes to a race track even in his downtime, as the triple world champion posted pictures of him and his father Jos driving a Ferrari GT3 in Portimao a week before Christmas.
The 26-year-old is known to be an admirer of sportscars and the GT3 was decked in Red Bull colours with Verstappen.com branding, so it could be linked to the fact that he’s aiming to set up his own GT3 team for 2025.
But, the driving did not stop there for Verstappen. The Red Bull driver is also a keen sim racer and he claimed a GTD class victory at the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours in January, so even when there are no grands prix Verstappen is still behind the wheel.
Sergio Perez has done a lot of sponsor work in the off-season as has been made clear through his social media. Perez, who finished a career-best of second in the 2023 drivers’ championship, was announced as an ambassador for Nescafe, featured in an advert for KitKat and spoke at an event for used cars marketplace Kavak.
Meanwhile, Perez also attended December’s FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Baku where he, Verstappen, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner collected the trophies for first and second in the drivers’ standings, as well as the constructors’ championship trophy.
Lewis Hamilton often visits the Colorado mountains in the off-season, where the seven-time world champion goes hiking, skiing and paddling near his home.
However, this off-season Hamilton also visited California to watch the Los Angeles Charges versus the Denver Broncos in the National Football League.
Hamilton has been a part-owner of the Broncos since August 2022 and he was seen wearing a vintage Denver jacket as they beat the Chargers 24-7 on 10 December at SoFi Stadium.
The Mercedes driver also went skydiving and surfing, while posting a video of him reuniting with his bulldog Roscoe at Christmas.
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