Max Verstappen threw a journalist out of a media session at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday, in a terse exchange over a previous comment.
Known for his straight-talking attitude, interviewers are never in doubt over the four-time World Champion’s thoughts on a particular topic.
This leads to direct questions being asked of the Dutchman on occasion, and he will take issue with those that he believes are unfair or unjust.
Media day in Suzuka showcased this, as the Dutchman ordered a journalist to leave who had asked a question in Abu Dhabi 2025, following his title loss to Lando Norris by just two points.
The journalist in question had asked if he felt his Spanish GP incident with George Russell had been a contributing factor to his defeat, given it cost him points that would have made him champion.
Verstappen had taken issue with the way the journalist had asked the question last season, responding with anger: “You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season.
“The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come.
But Verstappen then pointed out what could not be seen off camera, and was far from impressed. “You’re giving me a stupid grin now. I don’t know. Yeah, it’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn.
“The championship is one of 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that.”
The full exchange between Max Verstappen and journalist
Upon seeing the same journalist in his media session in Japan, Verstappen immediately addressed him, leading to stunned silence during the exchange, and the journalist’s hasty exit.
As the session began, Verstappen stopped his first question, and singled out the individual, stating: “One second. I’m not speaking before he’s leaving”.
The journalist asked: “Seriously?”, with an immediate response of “Yeah” from the Dutchman.
Asking it was due to the question in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen again replied: “Yeah.”
Possibly attempting to bargain, the journalist said: “It’s just a question I asked in Abu Dhabi…about Spain?”, to which Verstappen simply said “get out”.
Asking “You’re really that upset about it?”, Verstappen repeated his request. The journalist made an exit with the room in silence, and Verstappen then allowed the session and questions to start, with Motorsport Week in attendance.
Verstappen previews Japanese GP
Previewing the upcoming changes to the energy deployment regulations for qualifying, he hinted that the problem of cars not performing at full speed may not be fixed.
“Yeah, I mean I’ve not practised this on the simulator, so I cannot give you a clear answer,” he said.
“It was before a little bit, well yeah, not flat out basically. So I hope that this can be closer to being flat out.
“Yeah, I mean of course it feels very different to last year, but this is the reality that we’re in now and you just have to accept that at the moment.
“I mean there’s not much that you can do anyway for this year. I hope that bigger changes will be there for next year.”
“You know, it’s different. I mean, you all know how I of course think of the situation and I think that was something that I felt when I was on the simulator as well around here.
“Yeah, going to 8 megajoules probably helps a tiny bit, but the basics are the same, you know, so you still need to be careful with your throttle inputs.Yeah, that is of course very different to the past.
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