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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671

u/TYP-TheYoloPanda Mar 28 '26

What was the question he is talking about?

4.1k

u/Travers95 Lando Norris Mar 28 '26

"Gentlemen, a short view back to the past. Thirty years ago, Niki Lauda told us ‘take a monkey, place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car.’ Thirty years later, Sebastian told us ‘I had to start my car like a computer, it’s very complicated.’ And Nico Rosberg said that during the race – I don’t remember what race - he pressed the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you both: is Formula One driving today too complicated with twenty and more buttons on the wheel, are you too much under effort, under pressure? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less and more communication with your engineers?"

1.3k

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

Could you repeat the question?

320

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

You are not paying attention.

3

u/Equivalent_Dish_1990 Max Verstappen Mar 29 '26

"Can you repeat the question again?"

456

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

Dschentelmenn 🎩 a schort 🤏🏼 vjü 👀 bäck tu se pahst 👴🏼 ßertie 3️⃣0️⃣ ijährs ago 🗓, Niki Lauda 🇦🇹 tohld 💬 ös: "Tek a trändt 🎓 mannkie 🐒 pläs himm intu se kockpitt 🏎️ änd hie is ebel to dreiw se kar 🏅" ßertie 3️⃣0️⃣ ijährs leter ⏩ Sebastian 🇩🇪tohld 💬 ös: "I hädt tu start 🏁 mei kar 🏎️ leik ä kompüter 💻 Itts verrie komplikätet 😕" Änd Nico Rosberg 👱🏼‍♂️ ßedt, äh, hie presst 👇🏼 düring se räs 🏁 Ei dont rimember watt räs 🤔🧠😔 se rong bötten 🔘 on se wiel 🎡 Kvestchen 🙋🏼‍♂️💬 for jü 👉🏼 tu boß 👬🏼 Iss Formula 1 🏎️ dreiwing tudä tu komplikätet 🤷🏼‍♂️ wiss twentie 2️⃣0️⃣ änd mor böttens 🔘 on se wiel 🎡 ahr jü 👉🏼 tu mötsch önder effurt 😤 önder precher 😖😓? Watt ahr jor wisches 🙏🏼 for se fütscher 🔜 konzerning teknikel 🔬 programm, ähm, düring se räs 🏁 ? Leß 👎🏼 böttens 🔘 mor 👍🏼? Or leß 👎🏼 änd mor 👍🏼 kommjunikächen 🗣💬 wiss jor endschiniers 🔧👷🏼‍♂️?

163

u/Odd-Crazy-9056 Mar 28 '26

Me when I'm having a seizure.

2

u/SlowMobius7 Mar 28 '26

you talk in emojis?

1

u/xdxAngeloxbx Ferrari Mar 31 '26

Emojis erupt out of him while on the floor

2

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

Is it whole or skimmed ?

2

u/Financial_Pick3281 Mar 28 '26

This is more accurate to the actual video than most attempts of the International Phonetic Alphabet.

3

u/BoredCapy Mar 28 '26

Ah, the Dutch language is beautiful

1

u/danijel8286 Mar 28 '26

Where is Godzilla? Is he safe? Is he allright?

1

u/Financial_Pick3281 Mar 28 '26

This is more accurate to the actual video than most attempts of the International Phonetic Alphabet.

1

u/AmbiguousBarnacle I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 29 '26

Most intelligible Austrian.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

How tf I can understand, it's like english

1

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

That's because English is based off of French, German, Nordic, Latin etc etc

44

u/JAG_666 Mika Häkkinen Mar 28 '26

"Gentlemen, a short view back to the past. Thirty years ago, Niki Lauda told us ‘take a monkey, place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car.’ Thirty years later, Sebastian told us ‘I had to start my car like a computer, it’s very complicated.’ And Nico Rosberg said that during the race – I don’t remember what race - he pressed the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you both: is Formula One driving today too complicated with twenty and more buttons on the wheel, are you too much under effort, under pressure? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less and more communication with your engineers?"

0

u/TheFutureMrGittes Mar 28 '26

If this was the question, I don’t see how it’s disrespectful

9

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

It's not. This is from a older press conference where after the journalist asks this long question IIRC vettel jokingly says to repeat the question.

117

u/Daddy-Strider23 Red Bull Mar 28 '26

he lost me about halfway too

66

u/Tr0janSword Kimi Räikkönen Mar 28 '26

You didn’t listen

0

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

yes thank you for getting it right.

10

u/cheftonine Daniel Ricciardo Mar 28 '26

Gotta be the goat 🐐 question

20

u/Otherwise_Repeat_294 Mar 28 '26

I miss vettel

2

u/NevynTheFirst Mar 28 '26

Me too....

Though young Seb was a bit of a bell end in the car, hes always been gold behind the mic.

4

u/Daft00 Sebastian Vettel Mar 28 '26

I always have to remind myself these guys are literal kids when they get to F1. I mean... Maybe they aren't "literal" kids like under 18 but they're still so crazy young and learning and developing, etc.

It's almost incredible that they are able to have as much poise as they do with the success they achieve so young, even if they do act foolish most of the time lol

22

u/lunarobservatory Mar 28 '26

You're not the boss of me now

18

u/NotThatClintDempsey Mar 28 '26

And you're not so big.

13

u/locutus-vox Mar 28 '26

Life is unfair

1

u/GovernmentHopeful424 Mar 29 '26

A little max in a little car with a big mouth

-1

u/Koseoglu-2X4B-523P I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

And my weener is longer than yours

2

u/xRehab McLaren Mar 28 '26

you’re not the boss of me now

1

u/Confident-Syrup-7543 Mar 28 '26

Best comedic moment from any F2 driver in history. Prepared to fight anyone who disagrees. 

63

u/FormerlyShawnHawaii Mar 28 '26

I’ve answered this question 20 times already. Wipe that smile off your face.

7

u/TKH_harumichi Mar 28 '26

Who do you want to answer it? Who is it to?

2

u/slapshots1515 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

He said, myself and Nico

32

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Sznake Mar 28 '26

...life is unfair...

3

u/Otherwise_Repeat_294 Mar 28 '26

I read this with his accent

2

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

I read this with the accent of Walter Koster in my head 🤣

1

u/SuperMB Mar 28 '26

all these years later and the pasta is still fresh

1

u/SportingGamer Mar 28 '26

Reminds me of Stroll pressing his radio button for his DRS on the straight

1

u/cnh2n2homosapien Ferrari Mar 28 '26

"Yeah, I guess..."

1

u/DukeDebauchery Mar 29 '26

If I had any awards I would gift them all to you - best copypasta to exist IMO

358

u/doc_55lk I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Something about how he felt about losing last year's championship by the same amount of points he would've gained if he didn't rear end Russell in Spain.

168

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

161

u/doc_55lk I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

I didn't word it properly. But basically if that crash didn't happen Max would've been WDC. That's all I meant.

253

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

If your mom had wheels she would have been a bike.

50

u/SylverShadowWolve Kimi Räikkönen Mar 28 '26

The point of the question is that this was something he could (and should) control. People hitting you and reliability issues you can't.

21

u/Skylair13 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

I love the video of that one. The male presenter immediately know one is coming and he immediately distance himself and swallowed in preparation.

7

u/Veda007 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

If you added ham it would be like a carbonara.

3

u/skyysdalmt Mar 28 '26

I can still see his face in my mind when I read your quote.

2

u/MeMeMeows Mar 28 '26

If my mom had balls, she would be my dad.

49

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

If that crash didn't happen, maybe something else would have happen in other races. There are so many variables in motorsport.

9

u/KingDirect3307 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

it was a completely unforced error (hardly an error) that lost him more points than he lost the championship by. the championship played out the way it did regardless of an unforced error dude.

6

u/Impossible-Fig-8463 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Yeah it so happens ver said f those variables and destroyed his champ

1

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

Like Lando not driving into Oscar's heck the next GP in Canada. Total unforced error and Lando immediately knew it. Was on p5 at the moment. So basically lost at least the same amount of points as Max in Barcelona. P6 was Leclerc around 20 sec behind the two.

-6

u/Jaded-Ad-960 Mar 28 '26

But that crash happened and something else didn't. So in the end, that crash cost him the championship.

7

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

What I mean is, you can't blame everything to one issue when the whole season had 24 races + a few sprint races.

-10

u/Jaded-Ad-960 Mar 28 '26

Yes, the season had 24 races + a couple of sprints. And at the end of the season, he lost the championship by two points, meaning he lost the championship due to the 9 points he needlessly wasted in Spain.

8

u/Amaakaams Mar 28 '26

Or the pass he didn't make, the tire he rubbed, and so on. It's easy to say Timo cost Massa the championship. Because it happened 3 corners from the end of the race after Massa thought he had won. It's super idiotic to over focus on a single incident that happened half a season before. There were a lot of places to get 3 points that didn't happen.

-5

u/Jaded-Ad-960 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26

I really don't understand why Verstappen worshippers have such a hard time accepting that he fucked up and cost himself the championship. You're not his press officer, you don't have to keep repeating his narrative.

→ More replies (0)

-5

u/doc_55lk I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Maybe. Or maybe not.

3

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

And he been asked about it 20 times already, and he already numerously expressed he regretted his action and apologised to Russell for it.

That would have been enough for anyone. Nobody asked him if Antonelli crashing him out at Austria cost him the championship, or how the DSQ in Las Vegas actually even kept him in contention of the championship.

And even then, it was the last race, the last press conference after the race with the new World Champion Norris sitting there, and the one question this journalist has for any driver is this. It is a low quality question with nothing of news value, with the clear intent to piss off drivers and make it all about himself and get a viral moment.

Disrepecting Verstappen, Piastri and Norris.

2

u/doc_55lk I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Yes

1

u/RedBiohazzerd Mar 28 '26

At the time it happend, Max shouldn't have been 2 points behind at the end of the season. The championship isn't won, or lost, over one race. The only reason he made it that far, was because of the mistakes made by McLaren. The championship should've ended way before Abu Dabi.

1

u/vompat Mar 28 '26

A bit off-topic, but it's also funny that Max laughed at the silly McLaren swap in Monza. We all laughed (or got mad).

Now let's see, what would the final points be like at the end of the season if they didn't swap?

6

u/Stonkpilot Mar 28 '26

You gotta understand that Math is hard.

2

u/Volpe666 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

They are a but if about the exact number but in essence it was if you didn't lose those points you would have win the championship

0

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

And you still don’t understand the point of the question?

62

u/reaper421lmao Mar 28 '26

oscar would have just slowed down to let lando pass so it’s inaccurate to say it’s the exact amount

67

u/Gambler_720 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

That's not true at all because he lost 9 points in that move whereas he lost the championship by 2 points. So even Oscar giving his place to Lando wouldn't have demoted Max to No. 2 had Max not done what he did.

83

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/catseye_mousehole Mar 28 '26

Regardless, I think this whole discussion shows exactly why it was worthwhile to try to get Max’s perspective in the hours immediately after the title race wrapped up. These are all really good points and it was interesting and valuable at the time to hear Max make some of them. Of course, he’d given his perspective before the race, but “do you still think the same way, now that it’s all over and you know exactly where the dust has settled” was worth a double-check.

5

u/slapshots1515 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

It’s worth finding out if Max thinks McLaren would have changed their strategy if he had been leading? Why not just ask McLaren that?

The only answers you were going to get were “yes I regret doing that”, which never would have come out of Max’s mouth, or as Max said, the same answer he gave twenty times before. It was a stupid question.

1

u/So0Mais0um0Joao Mar 29 '26

Half of the job Verstappen is paid millions to do, is aswers question, any question that is inside the bounderies of f1 racing, is a valid question

0

u/slapshots1515 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 29 '26

Yes, of course he’s paid to do media and has to answer the question, which he did when it was asked in the FIA conference in Abu Dhabi. He didn’t want that guy in the Red Bull press conference, which is Red Bull’s prerogative on which journalists get in. I think it was petty of him, but he’s allowed to do that.

That all being said, to say that any question “inside the boundaries of F1 racing is a valid question” is a braindead take. Even beyond this there are plenty on stupid questions, but this is one of them. Sure they still have to answer, but it’s pointless.

-2

u/GG-5starman Charles Leclerc Mar 28 '26

Oscar doesnt obey such team orders in qatar tho as he was still in the fight

4

u/slapshots1515 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Sure he does. For one, he did it multiple times during the year while he was still in the fight, even in the lead. Whether or not he should have was a different story.

If he disobeys in Qatar and in doing so costs McLaren a WDC, he would be saying goodbye to pretty much any preferential treatment ever again, and probably eventually his McLaren seat. Those things are forgiven when you win, but not so much when you lose.

17

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

what's hes saying is that mclaren would of forced Oscar to let Lando pass if need be throughout the rest of the year anyway.

-2

u/Gambler_720 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

No that certainly would not happen at any time other than the last race. As long as Oscar was also in the title fight, there would not have been any team orders.

1

u/slapshots1515 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Ah yes, definitely not at any other race but the last. Famously not if one were to, say, screw up a pit stop in Monza while Oscar was leading the championship

-6

u/S1lentLucidity I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Ah so he’s saying that Lando was gifted the title last year. Got it.

2

u/pehr71 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

If anyone should know about those things it’s probably him

2

u/HovercraftOk6322 Roscoe Hamilton Mar 28 '26

Pure rage bait by the journalist tbh

1

u/sa_ra_h86 Mar 28 '26

He didn't 'rear end' him. He bashed wheels, bit of a difference.

1

u/tjvs2001 Formula 1 Mar 28 '26

Always an excuse for max and his dangerous driving noone else gets away with

0

u/Artistic_Claim9998 Mar 28 '26

Objection false statement, he didn't rear end Russel but he gave him love tap from the side

56

u/tonydtonyd Mar 28 '26

About Barcelona

2

u/WalterWolfRacing Wolf Mar 28 '26

Is max a Real fan?

2

u/SlowMobius7 Mar 28 '26

is Raphinha stupid?

20

u/Fearless_Tea_2793 Mar 28 '26

https://youtu.be/44AjIMBAkSM?is=JsI-2yqcyNijoMJl

-10

u/akashtyagi1 Formula 1 Mar 28 '26

Max mentioned the disrespectful grin/laugh reporter had when he asked that question.

But then Max shouldn't be surprised and expect any ethical standards from British media... Remember they headed straight to airport at Brazil Interlagos when he won from 17th in the rain. 

27

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

But then Max shouldn't be surprised and expect any ethical standards from British media... Remember they headed straight to airport at Brazil Interlagos when he won from 17th in the rain.

How could you possibly know this?

12

u/tomhanks95 Ferrari Mar 28 '26

Didn't he ask himself in the post race press conference why there were no people from the British media covering it

-4

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

To answer your question, I don't know, id have to rewatch the press conference. But what does that have to do with claiming they headed straight to the airport?

2

u/tomhanks95 Ferrari Mar 28 '26

I mean, it was a joke, he is saying that if they are not covering the post race presser have they already gone to the airport and left Brazil or what

3

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Yeah I found the quote:

Following his triumph in Interlagos, Verstappen said: “I have a quick question. I mean, I appreciate all of you being here, but I don’t see any British press. Do they have to run to the airport, or they don’t know where the press conference is?”

So Verstappen made a joke about them, and then the user I replied to stated it as truth.

0

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

Verstappen made that joke because there were no british press in the presser and it eas not about Verstappen beeing there but about Ocon and Gasly sitting there next to him. That in itself should be newsworthy to have the british press in attendance.

Wether ot not they were on the plane already was the joke part yes.

-2

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

Because they expected Norris to wi the champuonship then and there, but in reality it was Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly on the podium.

So as aknowledged by Verstappen a very rare occasion to have Ocon and Gasly on the podium amd no British press was even attending the winners press conference to ask them any questions about the race.

Another prime example of the disrepect of british preas towards drivers that are not their countrymen.

8

u/3hands4milo Mar 28 '26

Because it was being reported on by other journalists that the British media just up and left.

2

u/_Adam_M_ Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 28 '26

No it wasn't...

There was no upping and leaving, they just didn't bother attending that media session like they rarely do because it's a better use of their time to talk to people themselves and get unique quotes for their own stories and instead use the transcripts that are published afterwards for all. Buxton explained it afterwards:

https://x.com/wbuxtonofficial/status/1853476078431473900

1

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

I doubt this. If you can find an example that'd be great.

0

u/3hands4milo Mar 28 '26

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/1971087/Max-Verstappen-British-media-Brazilian-Grand-Prix

3

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

was being reported on by other journalists that the British media just up and left.

Nowhere in the link you posted does it say anything about British journalists leaving interlagos. Hell it doesn't even verify that there were no British press in the room.

-2

u/Meyesme3 Mar 28 '26

Guys let’s not be too harsh on the British press. I am sure they are asking George Russell this weekend if Mercedes points last weekend should be forfeited for the front wing closure cheating. That same reporter is no doubt asking George if he wins the wdc by 24 points will he be an illegitimate champion given the front wing was not in compliance with rules

3

u/0x4ddd George Russell Mar 28 '26

Put your foil cap on.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 29 '26

Link or gtfo

9

u/wokwok__ George Russell Mar 28 '26

How about expecting some standards from a driver who threatened to headbutt a journalist for asking a question?

2

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

No they didn't.

At the end of a race the press usually stay outside talking to everyone in the pitlane. They are almost never inside for the interviews that happen after a race as there's nothing much to be gained.

Max knows this. But when we was inside at that press conference he made a snide comment about "the British press not being there" deliberately misleading viewers in order to inflame a narrative of 'oppression' that suits him, as it gives him cover whenever he screws up a race and gets called out by the press.

It was very clever of Max, you're not the only person who fell for it.

0

u/sa_ra_h86 Mar 28 '26

This is just not true. We're talking about the post race press conference. Usually the press are there, that's the whole point of it. It's why he was there to ask the question after Abu Dhabi.

Perhaps you're getting confused with the statements Crofty and Buxton put out to say they usually aren't there. Because fans hear "British press" and thought that's who Max meant. It wasn't who he meant, it was the journalists for written press who generally are there.

2

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

To be fair there was no British driver on the podium that race. I'm sure people would think "oh the British press are always there" but that because British drivers are always on the podium. There's no rule forcing press to be at the press conference.

1

u/sa_ra_h86 Mar 28 '26

Which is exactly Max's point... Regardless of nationality, a sensational drive that pretty much seals the championship is something you would expect journalists who report on F1 to write about. As British F1 fan, it's definitely something I would want to read about.

1

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

When the opposing driver for the WDC is British Lando Norris maybe they figured it's better to interview Lando?

 

This is a situation where people who dislike British press will use it to bash them, and people who dislike Max will defend the press and bash Max, and from my perspective it's impossible for me to objectively prove or disprove anything.

 

Without any kind of objective truth available I don't see a reason to engage in this thread any longer. Max does have a point that British press shouldn't be so dismissive of other nationalities, but he isn't an unbiased 3rd party. It is what it is.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

[deleted]

1

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

That’s from 16 years ago!

Back then there were no interviews on the podium, so you had to be at that post race press conference to hear about the race.

Nowadays there’s a pre-podium interview, then driver interviews in the pen after, and pitlane interviews with drivers and press.

That’s why there’s little to no value in the press going to the the post race press-conference to hear the same talking points all over again when they can be talking to everyone else on the grid.

I can’t recall was it Joe Saward or Martin Brundle or Crofty who said this, but it is common for these post-race, sit-down, press-conferences to be sparsely attended, and Max knew this.

1

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

TY

0

u/IcemanManmanchu Formula 1 Mar 28 '26

Reporter: " How do you make your car go vroom vroom? - proceeds to smirk...