Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has kicked a British journalist out of a Formula 1 press conference ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver refused to ​speak to reporters in Suzuka until Giles Richards of The Guardian left the room.

“I’m not speaking before he’s leaving,” Verstappen said.

Verstappen’s vexation dates back to a post-race media session after ​last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, when the 28-year-old Dutchman fell two points short of winning his fifth driver’s title after a late-season push.

Richards asked Verstappen if he had “any regrets” about a collision with Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix on June 1, which prompted a 10-second penalty that knocked Verstappen down five places in the finishing order and cost him precious points that ultimately proved the difference in the championship race.

Verstappen explains Russell crash

Max Verstappen stops short of apologising for an incident involving George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

“You forget all ​the other stuff that ‌happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that [question] would come,” Verstappen snapped back.

“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.”

Richards published his own version of ‌the events on Thursday, saying ‌he was “deeply disappointed” that Verstappen gave him the boot and acknowledged that he had “seemingly touched ‌a raw nerve”.

“When he saw me, he stared, smiled and declared he would not speak until I left. In the course of a brief 30-second exchange, he told me to ‘get out’ twice. I have never been asked to leave a press conference,” Richards wrote in The Guardian.

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Richards said his media colleagues were “universally shocked” by the incident.

“Marching orders received, I duly departed,” he wrote.

“Verstappen had been smiling throughout the exchange. Perhaps ⁠he was simply enjoying the power dynamic?

“The day carried on; there are far more serious issues in the ‌world than an F1 ‌driver being cross with you.”

Verstappen ranks eighth in the F1 ​standings through two races after finishing sixth in the March 7 opener at Qatar and 16th at the Chinese Grand Prix on March 15.

Reuters