SUZUKA, Japan — There are plenty of ‘rules’ that you learn as a reporter, but one has been on my mind a lot in the past few days.
“Don’t make yourself the story.”
But sometimes, it’s unavoidable when actions concerning us hit the headlines, as has been the case after Max Verstappen ejected a journalist from his open media session on Thursday before the Japanese Grand Prix.
Advertisement
Verstappen, the four-time F1 world champion, told The Guardian’s F1 correspondent, Giles Richards, to leave the room before he would start the session.
As Richards calmly collected his dictaphone and left the room, he asked Verstappen if it was because of the question he asked at the end of last season in Abu Dhabi — if he had any regrets about the incident with George Russell in Spain in the context of losing the championship. Verstappen confirmed it was, while telling Richards three times to “get out.”
The session then proceeded as normal. But obviously, nothing Verstappen said in response to the questions about the Nurburgring or Suzuka were the story. This was.
None of us could recall a past example like this. There have been times drivers have declined to answer questions (Lewis Hamilton did it once in response to coverage of him at Suzuka in 2016, a decision he explained fully) or opt for deliberately-short answers (Verstappen at Singapore 2024 in response to an FIA fine for swearing), but never — at least to our memory — has a driver in F1 refused to start a press conference before a specific journalist leaves the room.
By now, a lot of focus has shifted to the story around his suggestion Verstappen could walk away from F1 altogether at the end of this year given his unhappiness with the new cars. But what happened on Thursday is still front of mind.
I am part of the press pack, and Richards is a friend of mine. I know him well in my time working in the sport, and deeply respect him as a professional, as do many within the media center and the paddock.
I also consider Verstappen to be one of the greatest drivers of all-time. Covering him has been a great endeavor and I’ve appreciated his direct, forthright view on things, often speaking his mind at points when others would not. He’s refreshing and honest. He cares.
Advertisement
And he’s principled, which to him is what this reaction is all about. In Verstappen’s eyes, Richards’ question in Abu Dhabi crossed a line, as did the reaction that his answer garnered.
The context was that Verstappen had just lost the world championship by two points, narrowly missing out on what would have been one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all-time. With 10 races to go, he trailed by 104 points, only to carve into that gap.
But the clash with Russell in Spain, where Verstappen appeared to deliberately drive into the Mercedes in a moment of frustration, cost him nine points after the resulting penalty had dropped him from fifth to 10th place.
It was an incident — not the only one, another being the first-lap DNF in Austria when he was blamelessly taken out by Kimi Antonelli — that could be framed to have cost Verstappen the title. He’d been asked about what happened in Spain plenty of times, yes, but naturally not in the context of having just lost the championship. It was also the first time Richards had asked Verstappen about the matter.
When giving his answer in response to Richards’ question, Verstappen said: “You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona.” After a pause, he added: “I knew that (question) would come.” Another pause. “You’re giving me a stupid grin now.”
Verstappen felt aggrieved beyond that moment, quite clearly, hence this action in Japan more than three months after the Abu Dhabi press conference.
Plenty has been said about the relationship between athletes and the media covering them. But there has been a deluge of unacceptable abuse targeted at Richards, who detailed in his Guardian column that much of it had come via email. Although he has not looked at social media, the reactions to any coverage of the matter and the pushy nature of F1 content on platforms’ algorithms has made it impossible to avoid the toxicity. In past eras, a disagreement like this may have been kept behind closed doors without gracing the public domain. In today’s digital, always-on world, anyone has the ability to wade into the debate.
Advertisement
One post that personally surprised me was: “Radical leftist are not journalists!! Take notes Luke!” Banal tropes such as “woke” or “ragebait” were commonplace. Other reporters got similar messages, with one being called “a witch.” Another user on X told me: “Hopefully you’re next.”
On Saturday at Suzuka, the broadcaster Viaplay released a video interview with Verstappen that was filmed that morning where he was asked for his reasons for what happened in the press session.
“That particular question, I answered like 20 times with different people,” Verstappen said. “It’s not about the question. I always explain it very well, about the thought process and what happened of course back then.
“After the final race, when you’re asked that question, and you start laughing in my face while asking the question, and it’s clearly done with bad intent, to ask the question at that point, it shows a massive lack of respect.
“When you’re not respectful towards me, then I don’t need to be respectful towards you.”
Verstappen’s claim that Richards was “laughing in my face” was a new phrasing of the “stupid grin” he mentioned in the moment in Abu Dhabi. But Richards, in his own account written for The Guardian on Thursday, doubted that he had a “stupid grin” and said Verstappen’s answer “might have prompted a nervous smile. But I did not think it was funny, nor was I enjoying myself at his expense.”
No other journalist or official that was in the room for the press conference has said that Richards was laughing (or indeed grinning), nor is there any video footage to verify it, given the camera was only focused on Verstappen. The audio of that moment doesn’t pick up any laughter.
Still, Verstappen took offence, with the Viaplay interview on Saturday being his way of saying what he had to say on the matter. Perhaps to him, that was a line being drawn underneath it. Yet it only served to stir the story back up, with Richards experiencing a fresh wave of abuse.
Advertisement
The overall reaction within the F1 paddock and motorsport – not just within the media – has largely been one of shock and dismay, over what Verstappen did and the handling of the matter. There are zero winners in this story.
Verstappen may, in his mind, have responded to an act of disrespect, but it has sparked a barrage of abuse and toxicity that is deeply concerning. As Richards noted in his piece: “Sometimes, difficult, awkward questions have to be asked.”
There are going to be moments of friction. Occasionally you have to ask a tough question that gets a prickly response, or there is a misunderstanding. But it quickly gets cleared up. Rarely does it escalate like this.
Where does it go from here? Richards wrote of his admiration for Verstappen and that he hoped for a better relationship in the future. Red Bull believes the matter is closed, having spoken to Verstappen and Richards to hear out both sides of what the team views as a difference of opinion of what happened.
To Verstappen, the matter may well be at an end now that he’s made his point, meaning things can go back to normal from the next race in Miami, and Richards will be allowed to attend his press sessions once again.
But it doesn’t undo what descended into a sorry and sad situation, one that could have been avoided and dealt with behind closed doors if Verstappen did feel disrespected.
There’s no getting away from the fact Verstappen’s actions in Japan, regardless of his justification, put an unnecessary target on the media’s back in what is an already fragile environment around the world. It ended up making Richards the story, which was the last thing he wanted.
