Max Verstappen misses FIA Awards in Tashkent due to illness

Red Bull's F1 2025 runner-up Max Verstappen did not attend Friday night's FIA Awards after being struck with what was described as seasonal flu.

As part of the top three finishers in the 2025 F1 world championship, narrowly losing out to McLaren's Lando Norris, Verstappen was expected to attend the FIA's end-of-season gala in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent to make an appearance alongside Norris and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

But according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, which is close to the Verstappen family, Verstappen called in sick after being struck by flu and decided against travelling to the central Asian country following a Red Bull factory visit in Milton Keynes.

As well as being part of the F1's top three celebration, the 28-year-old Dutchman was also nominated in the FIA Action of the Year category for his pass on Piastri at the start of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. At the start of the Imola race, Verstappen swooped around the outside of polesitter Piastri to take the lead into Tamburello, which proved pivotal to winning the race.

Last year, Verstappen was ordered to conduct community service at the FIA gala in Kigali, Rwanda, as a punishment for swearing in a Singapore Grand Prix press conference, helping the FIA launch its Affordable Cross Car and attending a grassroots programme with young drivers and engineers.

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Speaking after losing out on a fifth straight world drivers' title in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen labelled his 2025 season with Red Bull as a "massive rollercoaster".

"Of course, the first half had some nice moments, but mainly tough moments — some really tough races and feelings," he said. "But I’m also very proud of how we never gave up. And, again, that’s also a lesson for the future, for everyone, that even when it looks like you’re out of it, you never give up. You keep working hard to try and understand your issues, and then you never know what can happen.

"Winning your first title is something that we all dreamt of when you get into the sport. This is very emotional, and I hope for Lando as well. They had an incredible season together, so it’s important that they enjoy it."

Earlier on Friday, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem won re-election unopposed for a second four-year term, after none of his potential rivals were able to put together an eligible election team.

In order to field a valid presidential ticket, candidates had to include World Motor Sport Council members from every region. As Ben Sulayem supporter Fabiana Ecclestone was the only person eligible for the WMSC from South America, challengers Tim Mayer and Laura Villars were unable to put together a valid list.

Villars has taken legal action against the governing body, with a French court ruling last week that the FIA presidential elections could go ahead, but that the case warrants a full court hearing in February.