Verstappen dismisses Dutch 'curse': It shows a very weak mentality

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has dismissed talk of a "curse" that prevents the Netherlands from beating Germany in football.

The Netherlands have never beaten Germany in a top-level football match, with Germany getting the better of the Netherlands in two of their five World Cup matches. The other three games resulted in draws.

With Verstappen currently trying to fend off 'Germany', in the form of Mercedes, in the F1 World Championship, the points leader was asked about whether he thought there was any credence to the curse.

"No. I think if you believe in these things, you have a very weak mentality," he firmly told accredited media, including RacingNews365.com.

"At the end of the day, football is not Formula 1, and Formula 1 is not football, and to be honest, it's not really Holland against Germany.

"There are so many different nationalities involved. I would say many English but, in general, a lot of different nationalities in preparing your car and engine, so you can't speak of two nationalities fighting for a championship."

A new challenge in Saudi Arabia

Verstappen has arrived in Saudi Arabia with his first chance of securing what would be a maiden F1 world title.

In order to do so, Verstappen needs to extend his championship lead from eight points to 26. This would put him out of reach of Hamilton in Abu Dhabi as, even if Hamilton scores victory and the fastest lap point, Verstappen has more Grand Prix victories to his name this season.

Discussing the challenge of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which drivers sampled for the first time on Friday, Verstappen said: "I like new opportunities. When you go to tracks where you know, more or less, what your car's capable of, then it's a different story.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what track we go to, I'm just always happy to race and try to do the best I can."