Max Verstappen remains defiant, maintaining minimal responses at press conferences due to his ongoing standoff with the FIA.
Max Verstappen stated that he will continue to give minimal responses during official Formula 1 press conferences at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver adopted this approach after the previous race in Singapore, following a penalty from the FIA for swearing during a press conference.
During media day in Austin, Texas, Verstappen said: “I haven’t heard anything new (from the FIA), so for me, nothing will change either. I actually prefer to talk less, so that works for me anyway.”
In Singapore, Verstappen kept his responses as brief as possible during official press conferences, including Thursday’s if invited, and Saturday and Sunday’s if he finished in the top 3 of qualifying or the race. Outside of these conferences, the Dutchman spoke normally to journalists, as he did again yesterday in the paddock.
“I will speak at the press conferences, but in a limited way. For longer answers, these media points outside work well.”
The Dutchman called the dispute “stupid” but still resents the penalty.
When asked if he would address the issue with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Verstappen said: “I’m always open to discussion. But on my side, I’m not the one who needs to reach out. I’m just living my life. I move on, nothing changes.”
“This particular scenario, yes, it’s very pointless. Of course, I know that generally, you shouldn’t swear, but that’s usually when you’re insulting someone.”
“Then you hear comments like, ‘Yeah, but you don’t want kids to see that.’ But when I was five years old, I never watched a press conference in my life. And at school, you hear far worse things. Because you grow up around kids and you’re a bit rebellious, so you always say mean things. That’s just how life is.”
“They want you to set an example. Yes, of course. But I don’t think they should make a big deal out of such a common swear word (the word ‘fuck’).”
Russell expects discussions with the FIA and promises a joint statement from the drivers
George Russell, who is the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said that F1 drivers will likely make a collective statement on the issue next week.
“The drivers have talked a lot about swearing. It seems a bit silly that it’s come to this. We haven’t spoken to the FIA yet, but we hope to do so at the next race in Mexico. But collectively, we’re all on the same page.”
“Next week, we will probably have something official from the drivers for you to read as a united statement.”
“We don’t want to take away the emotions drivers show in the heat of the moment during a race. Maybe it’s up to the broadcaster to decide if they want to air that.”
“For the drivers, it’s very tough when you have a microphone, you’re talking to your team, and you’re in the middle of a battle.”
“But if we live in such an environment, maybe we do have a duty to weigh the pros and cons of what we say. Next week, we’ll have a letter or something to share with everyone.”
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Verstappen’s FIA Boycott Continues Amidst Media Silence Verstappen’s FIA Boycott Continues Amidst Media Silence
