At Suzuka, a serious controversy erupted between Max Verstappen and the British press: a Formula 1 journalist was removed from the press room, and the FIA issued a formal warning to Red Bull. The entire situation stems from a question linked to the 2025 world championship battle, specifically the title that Verstappen narrowly lost after his clash with George Russell at the Barcelona Grand Prix. According to the narrative, that contact with the Mercedes driver proved decisive in the championship outcome. Verstappen has not forgotten, and he is not holding back.
The fact that Verstappen does not forget
The press room in Japan fell into silence for several minutes. It was almost a suspended moment in time, where an “electrical silence” dominated the atmosphere. The tension was so high it could have been cut with a carbon fibre flap. This was not about lap times or tyre degradation, but pure pride. A question that, in the end, seemed designed only to stir controversy.
Verstappen, seated in front of the Red Bull microphones, drew an invisible but absolute line: “I will not speak until that journalist leaves.” The message was directed at a reporter from The Guardian. Only after the room was cleared of that “unwanted presence” did the driver from Hasselt respond, but he left behind a trail of controversy that quickly reached the highest levels of Place de la Concorde.
The FIA did not take kindly to the incident. The “warning” sent to the Red Bull garage was not a minor reprimand, but a formal note of disapproval regarding behaviour considered harmful to the principles of press freedom. The matter escalated to the Formula 1 Media Advisory Board, where senior figures in sports journalism spent hours debating whether a driver should have the right to choose who can ask him questions.
The ghost of Abu Dhabi and the title lost by a fraction
To understand how this diplomatic fracture developed in the middle of the 2026 season, we need to go back in time. This takes us to the period when engines still roared without the new ADUO regulations. The ghost that still haunts Verstappen has a precise place and date: Abu Dhabi, the final race of the 2025 season, where Verstappen was once again, in our view, provoked.
On that occasion, the same British journalist had asked a question that, for the four-time world champion, felt like an MGU-K sensor short-circuiting. The topic was the collision months earlier at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with George Russell. That incident resulted in significant points loss, which ultimately handed the world title to the Mercedes driver.
“Do you regret that incident? If you had scored those points, would you be world champion today?” That was the question that triggered a ticking emotional time bomb. However, it was not only the question itself that affected Verstappen, but also the manner in which it was delivered: the smirk he perceived as a personal provocation rather than a professional inquiry.
Beyond the simulator: the human factor in modern F1
“When you ask a question like that and laugh in my face, it’s clear there is bad faith,” Max Verstappen growled after the Suzuka press conference. For Max, that laugh represented a clear lack of respect, breaking the unwritten contract between athlete and journalist. And in this case, there is a strong argument to support that view. If respect for the individual disappears, then, in Verstappen’s logic, the professional obligation to respond also disappears. It is a binary mindset, typical of his character: you are either with me or against me.
This episode, however, opens a wider debate about how Formula 1 drivers manage stress in 2026. With new-generation power units pushing software control and hybrid energy management to the extreme, psychological pressure is at an all-time high. Every mistake costs twice as much, and every criticism hits three times harder.
Red Bull now finds itself caught between two fronts: protecting its star driver, capable of extraordinary on-track performances at the limit of physics, and maintaining a working relationship with a governing body that is closely monitoring every action of the team. Ultimately, Verstappen’s reaction in Suzuka reflects a driver who has not yet fully processed the emotional wound of 2025.
Despite Formula 1 technology accelerating into the future at extreme speed, the human factor remains anchored in ancient dynamics: respect, pride, and memory. The journalist may have left the room, but the sound of that closing door will continue to echo throughout the season. The question now is whether the FIA will move from warnings to action, or whether it will accept that the new “emperors” of the paddock can decide who is allowed to speak to them.
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