F1: Verstappen, family close to New Year's fire scare in Dubai
F1 sensation Max Verstappen brought in the New Year amid a safety scare while visiting Dubai over the holidays.
The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that the 18-year-old and his father Jos were not far from the drama as a high-rise hotel caught fire in the ultra-modern city on New Year's Eve.
Just hours before Dubai's spectacular annual fireworks display, the luxury skyscraper 'Address Downtown' hotel caught fire and was engulfed by flames.
Flames rip through the Address Downtown hotel after it was hit by a massive fire, near the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, on Dec. 31, 2015.
"When the fire broke out, we were eating about 150 meters from the hotel," Jos Verstappen confirmed.
"Immediately it was clear that something was going on so we went back to our hotel," added the former F1 driver, who was in Dubai with his son Max, Max's girlfriend and other relatives.
"So we got away from the panic. We arrived safely in our hotel and could see the fire from the window. It was quite a scare."
