Formula 1 star Max Verstappen may be a three-time champion, but the driver almost missed out on special treatment in Austin last week.
The 2024 Formula 1 season arrived in Texas last weekend for an action-packed United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, where Verstappen took a third place finish on the podium.
Austin’s bars were naturally packed as fans reveled in the race weekend atmosphere and the Red Bull driver reportedly joined in.
A local bartender revealed that the Dutchman visited the Blind Pig, a dive bar in downtown Austin, where he went too unnoticed.
Noah Hyatt admitted this week that he almost kicked the reigning F1 champion out of the bar when it came time to close.
Austin bartender Noah Hyatt (right) revealed he almost kicked Max Verstappen (left) out of a bar.
So, quick story time. “I’m a bartender here in Austin, Texas at the Blind Pig, which is on 36th Street. If you don’t know, at 36 years old, it’s basically the Broadway of Nashville,” Hyatt said in a TikTok video.
“Anyway, it’s Formula 1 race week here and we’re packed. I’m talking maximum capacity shoulder to shoulder. And you know, there comes that point in the night when we close. We’re trying to get everyone out of this building and I’m going around asking them for nice things.
He recalled that a large group did not relent despite his attempts to empty the bar and he was on the verge of kicking them out before his manager intervened.
‘I remember this group of about 20 people. I say they are not moving. So I finally raised my voice and said, “Please walk towards the exit. You can walk and talk.”
“And my manager says, ‘Oh no, this group is good. This group is good.” Then I stand there for a second. Just a little angry.
‘I say, “Why, why are they good?” So I bring the trash can and start picking up glasses from the table. And I make eye contact with one guy in particular. It’s Max Verstappen. As the number one Formula 1 driver in the world.
Verstappen would have been a familiar face to most in the Texas city last weekend after edging rival Lando Norris onto the podium.
Verstappen leads the Briton by 57 points in the championship race with 146 still available.
Mathematically, the McLaren man is still in contention, although the odds are heavily stacked against him as he lost ground to the defending champion in Austin.
Verstappen took third place on the podium at the United States Grand Prix in Austin last week.
Verstappen made an aggressive but fair move to pass Lando Norris in the first corner.
Norris, on fresher tires, closed in on Verstappen in the closing stages, trying to regain the third place he lost at the start. Four laps from the end, in turn 12, he tried to make the overtake.
Verstappen, defending like a lion, gave no quarter as Norris pressured him from the outside. They both went off the track. Norris passed, but the stewards deemed he had gained an illegal advantage by completing the move on the wrong side of the white lines.
Despite his admiration for Verstappen, Norris maintains that he was mistreated by the five-second penalty that returned him to fourth position. Without letting the matter go, McLaren filed a right of review claim, citing new evidence.
“Max only got to the top first because he released the brake,” Norris argued. “I still believe I did the right thing by doing what I did.”