F1 News
Verstappen arrives in Melbourne: This was his insane journey!
- Ludo van Denderen
For anyone living in Europe, Australia is very far away. Flying directly to Melbourne is not often possible with a large passenger plane. It's common to need at least one transfer somewhere. Smaller aircraft require more stopovers, as Max Verstappen, for example, has experienced in recent days. The Dutchman has now arrived for the Australian Grand Prix, but it took quite a few stops.
Max Verstappen has his own private jet in which he flies around the world. Handy, because the Dutchman never has to queue at a check-in desk. The downside is that his Dassault Falcon 900 has to make more frequent stops to refuel on the way to a race. The journey to Melbourne is even more complicated.
This is how many stopovers Verstappen made
Verstappen left Nice airport, close to his home town of Monaco, at just before 11.30am local time on Monday. He then had to make stopovers in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Oman, an unnamed ocean island, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Australia before reaching his final destination in Victoria, Australia, according to a flight tracker. At 9:50am from Melbourne, Verstappen arrived. So seven stopovers were needed.
The Red Bull Racing driver has only a few days to acclimatise. Thursday is the mandatory media day, and on Friday, the first practice sessions at Albert Park are scheduled. After the Sunday Grand Prix, Verstappen will fly back home, again with the necessary stopovers. Two weeks later, the Japanese Grand Prix is already on the programme, and at Suzuka, you often don't fly straight there either.