British racer, 18, shares cancer fight update after Max Verstappen got in touch

British teenager Will Macintyre has revealed heart-warming support and messages from the likes of Formula 1 stars Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli after sharing news of his cancer diagnosis. The racing prospect, aged just 18, revealed earlier this month that he had been diagnosed with brain and lung cancer.

Macintyre, who has enjoyed tremendous success in youth racing categories, shared the news of his condition on social media and received a huge response. At the time of writing, his initial post confirming his diagnosis and the fact he has had to step away from motorsport for a while has been liked more than 88,000 times.

More than 2,900 comments were also left on the post, giving the young teenager some support when he needs it most. That includes messages from the likes of Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft, BTCC racer Nicolas Hamilton, who is Lewis Hamilton's younger brother, and Williams racer Alex Albon.

And now Macintyre has shared that he has also received direct contact from some other huge names in the motorsport world. "Even people I've never met before: Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli and Susie Wolff, all wishing me well," he told the BBC.

Macintyre, who finished as runner-up in the 2023 British F1 championship, has been receiving treatment at Milton Keynes hospital. He spoke of his his friends have been visiting armed with sweets, snacks and things to do, such as a VR headset with which he has been able to play golf virtually to help pass the time.

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"I've got as much sorted to make this as homey and as fun as possible," he said. "I mean, we've just got to make the time go by quicker and whenever I'm talking to anyone, time flies by." He was also pictured wearing a Liverpool football shirt while laid in his hospital bed.

For now, his priority very much has to be on following his doctors' orders to give him the best chance of a successful fight against his disease. But in the long term, Macintyre remains adamant that he will be back racing cars in the future.

He said: "When? Not a clue. If it's going to be in two weeks' time or four years' time, I don't know. I don't know when I'll be back but I will be back... I love it too much. I'll be back to winning at some stage, that's for sure."