Verstappen streams sim session instead of attending F1 film

Max Verstappen chose not to attend a private Monaco screening of the new Brad Pitt-starring F1 film, opting instead to spend the evening at his simulator.

While 18 of the 20 Formula 1 drivers — all except Verstappen and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll — gathered in a local Monaco cinema on Wednesday, Verstappen was live-streaming a sim session from his apartment under his new Twitch alias, 'FranzHermann69'.

The handle is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the pseudonym Verstappen used during a recent GT3 test at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where he drove a Ferrari.

Though most of the drivers wore team gear as requested, some — including both Ferrari drivers and Fernando Alonso — turned up in casual clothes.

Verstappen, however, didn't attend at all.

He had already revealed that he turned down an opportunity to appear in several scenes for the film, which is co-produced by Lewis Hamilton.

"It's not something that really excites me," Verstappen said of the Hollywood project.

"We discussed it," he added of the proposed cameos, "but ultimately it didn't really happen. But that's fine. It's not why I'm here."

The four-time world champion, fresh off his win in Imola, has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep Formula 1 separate from his personal life.

"As soon as I leave the paddock, I don't think about it anymore," he explained.

"I'm busy. That keeps me away from all the gossip or possible things that happen. I am not interested."