Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday, four-time world champion Max Verstappen got into a heated argument when he wouldn’t begin his news conference until an English journalist had departed.
At the team’s hospitality suite in Suzuka, the Red Bull driver sat down to address reporters. However, he abruptly remarked, “I’m not speaking before he’s leaving,” gesturing to a journalist from The Guardian.
When the journalist asked Verstappen if his demand stemmed from a question he had posed to the driver during the previous season, Verstappen said “yes” and instructed him to “get out.”
Verstappen carried on with the press conference after the reporter departed.
After the Dutchman lost to Lando Norris by two championship points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, the reporter later informed AFP that the confrontation was caused by a question he had asked Verstappen.
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The focus of the inquiry was the consequences of Verstappen’s penalty for colliding with Mercedes driver George Russell at the June Spanish Grand Prix.
