Former Formula 1 race winner David Coulthard has questioned why Max Verstappen escaped punishment for throwing a journalist out of a media session at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen caused a stir in Suzuka, refusing to start a media session until a journalist left, demanding they vacate the room, which they duly did after a brief exchange.
An unusual moment, it put the spotlight back on the four-time world champion’s divisive nature on a race weekend.
Verstappen went unpunished by the FIA for the incident, in a weekend where he and Red Bull continued to struggle for pace, trapped behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly en route to eighth.
Coulthard believes that Verstappen will regret his actions and questioned why no action was taken against Verstappen, given the unique issue it caused.
Weighing in on the situation, Coulthard said on Up to Speed podcast:
“It’s probably not something that, on reflection, Max will feel good about because even though he’s absolutely at right, you don’t have to answer the question.
“It is unusual to ask somebody to leave from that environment.
“I’m actually a little bit surprised the FIA didn’t take a stance on it. I didn’t see anything that there was any sort of reprimand.”
Max Verstappen taking questions personally?
No stranger to difficult media sessions and press conferences himself, Coulthard sympathised with the Dutchman, given that drivers can sometimes take criticism or words to heart.
“I can only liken it to when I was racing, and I never won the world championships that Max has,” he said.
“But I was definitely open to some criticism from various journalists, and it’s very difficult not to take it personally.
“I’m sure you don’t look at the comments on some of the social feeds, because there’ll be some who love you and there’ll be some that just don’t like you, and that’s the way it is.
“If they were questioning my qualifying ability, it was a fair question – but of course, it wasn’t easy to be asked the same question time and time again, and some journalists would be a lot more dismissive.
“It is their right as a journalist to say what they see, but it is difficult not to take it personally, and none of the drivers are exempt from that.”
Coulthard has highlighted the unique and sometimes difficult relationship that exists between drivers and journalists.
Both have jobs to do in media sessions, but this can sometimes be a difficult balancing act to manage.
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