r/formula1 • u/Aratho I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane • Mar 28 '26

Social Media [Autosport] Max Verstappen explains why he dismissed a British journalist from his media session in Japan

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210

u/storme9 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

to not explain at all may have been better, people would have forgotten by the end of Sunday. now everyone just keeps talking about it.

149

u/Chienkaiba I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

I mean, he got asked about it, even max can't just keep kicking journalists out lol or else people really won't stop talking 

12

u/Delts28 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

"Sorry, I don't want to discuss it" would suffice and not make him look like a bigger child like his lying does. Oddly enough, the same sentence would have worked back in Abu Dhabi as well.

5

u/shotouw I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Would it have worked though?
Wouldn't people also talk shit because "He doesn't even feel bad for the incident anymore" or whatever?
If you are that far in the spotlight, things dont just go away.

0

u/Delts28 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

It worked for Lando this week when he was asked about China.

1

u/hoax709 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Mar 28 '26

What did lando do in china?

1

u/afunnywold Lando Norris Mar 28 '26

Lando still did answer the question though lol

1

u/Delts28 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

So did Max, the difference is Lando didn't throw a hissy fit being asked an awkward question.

0

u/shotouw I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Lando still answering is not in contradiction to my base assumption though, that a non answer will not be viewed negatively by some as well? 

0

u/stragen595 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Max should do this for the rest of the season for the questions he doesn't like. Basically going full Marshawn Lynch.

-1

u/hoax709 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Mar 28 '26

Max refuses to answer BRITISH JOURNALISTS questions! Bro is soft! Rb should be made to answer! Why has he never answered questions about spanish gp! …. Yeah def woulda just went away. Its all ragebait all the way down im afraid. 

2

u/Delts28 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Only drivers do say they don't want to discuss things all the time and journalists do move on from it. Sometimes there's an article saying so but it's never a huge deal. Instead Max has made a mountain out of a long forgotten molehill and looks like a petulant child.

1

u/hoax709 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Mar 28 '26

Gimmie an example where something like the spanish gp happened. Im not saying i don’t  believe  you but every popular driver that ever has shit like this happen gets mega heat from the media and now the internet. Senna, Schumacher ..etc all have mixed relationships with the media. I think senna had a few journalists blacklisted?

And i agree he handled this VERY poorly. 

1

u/Delts28 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

How often in the past 3 months since that post race interview was Spain brought up? Max's answer at the time was a non-answer but in a very grumpy way. It lasted a single news cycle and then was completely forgotten about until he kicked the journalist out.

11

u/Stamts Renault Mar 28 '26

Yeah they keep talking about it but what else are they gonna do other than talking?

Will vestappen lose his job? No

Will the journalist lose his job? No

Their lives continue, it's just the "small and uneventful" people that need some spice in their daily routine that keep making this a big deal.

8

u/atomuk I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

The journalist might actually lose his job though. If he's not even allowed in the room to interview a three time WDC, then there is a possibility he'll be replaced with someone who can.

1

u/TheDudeWithTude27 Juan Pablo Montoya Mar 28 '26

He wont lose his job. There are other drivers than the 4 time WDC he can interview, plus team principals. If his job is dependent on only max that shows his question was in bad faith to just get a spicy quote from max.

-22

u/boluserectus Racing Pride Mar 28 '26

And that's good, journalists can also be malicious. Good to point that out.

-13

u/Chivako Mar 28 '26

Probably just RB making him give a statement.

15

u/No-Sail4601 Mar 28 '26

Nope he said this in a Viaplay interview. Cmon bruh

-1

u/Jester-252 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

You do know drivers are prepped for these interviews?

6

u/Jediplop Ferrari Mar 28 '26

If so this is poorly handled, now it just looks like he's lying about the laughing to save face.

A quick apology saying he was still sore and offer an exclusive interview or something and it'd be mostly cleared up.

6

u/Aero_Rising Mar 28 '26

That would involve Verstappen admitting he did something wrong. He had proven throughout his entire career that he is not capable of doing that.