Verstappen on 'inspirational' Johan Cruyff: 'Never forget what he told me'

Max Verstappen is known as a big football fan. The Formula 1 driver, who is currently P1 in the drivers' standings, met his idol Johan Cruyff in 2016. The Dutch F1 driver sees his compatriot as an inspiration, he revealed in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.

"Cruyff was an inspiration to me. I met him in 2016. He came to the track, the circuit, in Barcelona. At that time he was already ill (with cancer). So after what happened, of course you think about that moment more and more. You know, when someone is not so healthy anymore and he takes time off to visit you at the track during the pre-season tests.... that was something incredible," Verstappen said.

"I will never forget what he said to me. He always liked to use phrases like this, you know. He said to me: 'I'm 2-1 behind at half-time (referring to his illness), but I'm going to win the game'. He was always very motivated and he always believed he could overcome. Johan was very inspiring and of course I also hoped he could overcome. But unfortunately that was not the case," the 26-year-old driver concluded.

Cruyff died of lung cancer on 24 March 2016 at the age of 68 in Barcelona, where Verstappen took his first Formula 1 victory in 2016. That was less than two months after Cruyff's death.