Max advised to catch virus

MAX VERSTAPPEN has bizarrely been urged to catch coronavirus by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko to ensure he’s back fighting fit for when the delayed 2020 F1 season gets underway. Marko has revealed Verstappen admitted during a phone call that he’s “terrified” of catching Covid-19 and Marko revealed thet he joked during a phone conversation with the Dutchman that he should try to contract the virus so he can be fit and healthy for his upcoming title fight. “He told me on the phone that he was terrified of being infected,” Marko told Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.”The best thing is that he is infected now. At 22, he is not a person at risk, but after that he would be immune for his title race.” Marko’s unusual advice, albeit tongue in cheek, comes after he claimed the reaction to coronavirus was over the top before the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled.