Prior to a scheduled press conference in the lead up to the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, star Formula One driver Max Verstappen ejected The Guardian reporter Giles Richard from the press room over a question Richard had asked the driver over three months ago, at the end of the previous F1 season.
Richard’s question, which followed the season finale in Abu Dhabi where Verstappen fell just two points short of the season-long title, concerned a controversial incident from a prior race in Barcelona, where Verstappen appeared to drive into the side of competitor George Russell’s car, a maneuver in which Verstappen was issued a 10-second penalty, ultimately amounting to a loss of nine points, which in the end was the difference between Verstappen winning the Drivers’ Championship and finishing second.
“You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come. You’re giving me a stupid grin now,” Verstappen told Richard at the time.
It appears that the Dutch F1 driver has an “elephantine recollection,” Richard now writes, as during Thursday’s media availability, Verstappen identified him in the back of the room and demanded he leave before starting his press conference.
“One second — I’m not speaking before he’s leaving,” Verstappen reportedly said.
“I asked him to confirm if it was because of the question in Abu Dhabi about Spain,” Richard subsequently wrote. “He did.”
“You’re really that upset about it?” the reporter then asked Verstappen.
“Get out. Yeah. Get out,” the driver responded.
When Richard vacated the room, Verstappen said, “Now we can start.”
This type of behavior at a press conference is, of course, highly unusual. Richard noted that “barely anyone” is able to recall “more than one or two examples” of this happening while covering F1. “Colleagues in the press pack were universally shocked and offered concern for my wellbeing,” The Guardian reporter wrote. “My wellbeing is fine. If anything, the most uncomfortable part is writing about it in the first person. A journalist never wants to be the story, even if it feels unavoidable now.”
However, it doesn’t seem like this incident will get in the way of Richard covering Verstappen the same as he always has.
“I still admire Verstappen and I hope we can enjoy a better relationship in the future. Sometimes, difficult, awkward questions have to be asked. That’s the job that comes with the privilege,” he concluded.