The father of Max Verstappen took to Instagram on Monday evening to reassure fans after a video clip of him at a go-kart track triggered a round of concerned posts on X.

“I’m doing just fine. I’m not sick, just having a bad hair day,” he wrote alongside a selfie, as reported by Dutch outlet GPFans.

The speculation had started hours earlier, after a Viaplay segment filmed at a go-kart circuit went around on social media. Viewers wrote that the 54-year-old looked notably thinner and had aged suddenly, with one post attracting more than 33,000 views asking whether something was wrong with him.

An AI-edited image fueled the panic

What tipped the discussion from mild concern into viral speculation was a still image lifted from the Viaplay footage and then clearly manipulated with AI to make Verstappen Sr. look visibly unwell. The doctored picture spread widely across X, and at least one news site ran it as if it were genuine.

Read also: Guti on the Ballon D’or results: ‘It was orchestrated’

His Instagram response pulled the plug on all of it in a single sentence. He has not said whether he intends to pursue the people behind the fake image, or the outlets that published it without checking.

A former F1 driver and Max’s constant companion

Jos Verstappen raced in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2003 with Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi, taking two podiums in his career. He is best known today as the hard-driving father who steered Max’s karting career from childhood and remains a visible figure in the Red Bull paddock.

The scare lands in a difficult stretch for Max

The timing is unhelpful. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 25 October and now leads the drivers’ standings with 365 points, 129 clear of Max Verstappen in fourth, according to the official Formula 1 standings. With five rounds left, the reigning champion is realistically out of title contention, and Red Bull’s season has slid behind both Mercedes and Ferrari in the constructors’ table.

Jos’s next public appearance is expected at the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on 8 November, where he is a regular presence in the Red Bull garage.

Read also: “Embarrass him”: Carragher makes explosive claim about Carrick’s Bruno Fernandes snub

Read also: Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari team have a major problem that could get even worse at next F1 race