Max Verstappen’s rough patch
It certainly cannot be said that this period is one of the best for Max Verstappen. The Dutch Red Bull champion has in fact first ended up in the eye of the storm of controversy for his unprofessional behavior last Thursday, when he threatened to boycott the press conference in his team’s hospitality as long as a British journalist writing for the Guardian did not leave the room, only to then end up eliminated in Q2 at the hands of his two young teammates Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad. All this exactly one week after the disqualification from the finishing order of the 4 Hours of Nurburgring which Super Max had dominated and won, not without giving the fans who followed him live a memorable show.
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In short, a “never a joy” phase, which seems perfect to describe the career moment of a Verstappen who not only does not seem particularly enchanted – to use a euphemism – by the new Formula 1 rules, but who also struggles to achieve decent results, caged as he is by a Red Bull overall in great difficulty. Thus, after eleventh place on the starting grid, speaking to the Dutch TV Viaplay the four-time world champion returned to the pains of Thursday, explaining the scene involving the Guardian journalist, Giles Richards.
‘Journalist case’, Verstappen speaks
“When someone asks you that question in the press conference after the last race – explains Max Verstappen – and then even laughs in your face, for me it is a total lack of respect. And so, if you don’t respect me, then why should I respect you? Obviously, you only see the camera pointed at me and not at that person, who simply started laughing. And you could clearly see that at that moment there was a malicious intent. This is enough for me, I have been in Formula 1 long enough to know who has good intentions and who has bad ones. If you come to the press conference and laugh in my face, then clearly you do not have good intentions”.
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The Guardian’s response
In recent days, there was also no lack of the account in the Guardian by Richards himself regarding the unpleasant event of the Suzuka Thursday, as well as an explanation of the laugh in the incriminated press conference of the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP, which Verstappen had called a “stupid smirk” responding sharply to his question: “I’m not sure I had any stupid smirk. I was certainly caught by surprise by the vehemence of his response and this might have elicited a nervous laugh from me. But I didn’t think the situation was funny, nor was I enjoying myself at his expense”. On Friday, moreover, it seems that Max Verstappen received a reprimand from Red Bull for his behavior in the press conference, with the team principal Laurent Mekies in the role of mediator to positively close the dispute.
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