Race and classic pictures

Verstappen takes a snow day!

When the weather is too cold for motor racing, Max Verstappen does what so many other Formula 1 drivers do at this time of year - and heads to the ski slopes!

It seems the preferred way for F1 stars to get their fix of speed and adrenalin at this time of year when there's just so much rain, snow and ice about in Europe and North America. Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton have also been on the piste during the holidays.

Of course, their counterparts from the southern hemisphere have been enjoying some very different pursuits in the weeks since the last Grand Prix at the end of November. Verstappen's Red Bull team mate has doubtless been enjoying roasting in the summer sunshine in Australia and enjoying a Christmas barbie on the beach!

You can catch up on all the latest photos from the drivers in our special gallery of pictures showing how they spent their holidays.

And while they're doubtless busy training to get into peak fitness ahead of the new season, the drivers have still got a few weeks of free time left before the serious work of 2018 gets underway. The first test session for the new 2018-spec cars starts on February 26 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.