Max Verstappen Expels Guardian Journalist from Japanese GP Media Briefing Over 2025 Feud

Max Verstappen expelled Guardian journalist Giles Richards from his pre-race media briefing at the Suzuka circuit on Thursday, refusing to answer questions until Richards left the room ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver spotted Richards among the assembled written press, stared at him, and declared he would not speak until the reporter departed. „I'm not speaking before he's leaving” — Max Verstappen via Reuters Verstappen repeated the instruction to "get out" multiple times during a 30-second exchange before Richards complied and left the Red Bull hospitality area. Once the journalist had gone, Verstappen turned to the remaining reporters and said: „Now we can start” — Max Verstappen via Reuters The rest of the session proceeded without incident, with Verstappen fielding questions about his recent outing in a sports car race at Germany's Nürburgring Nordschleife and a drive in a Japanese Super GT car at the Fuji racetrack.

A question in Abu Dhabi planted the seed The confrontation traces back to December 2025, when Richards asked Verstappen a pointed question at the Abu Dhabi season finale after the Dutchman had lost the Formula One World Drivers' Championship to McLaren's Lando Norris by just two points. Richards asked Verstappen whether, in hindsight, he regretted an incident with Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, for which Verstappen had received a 10-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to tenth place and cost him nine points. Verstappen reacted sharply at the time, accusing Richards of ignoring the broader context of his season. „You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come. You're giving me a stupid grin now” — Max Verstappen via Reuters Verstappen added that the championship spanned 24 rounds and that he had also benefited from what he called "early Christmas presents" in the second half of the season. Richards, writing in The Guardian, said he was "taken aback by the vehemence" of the reply and acknowledged that the question may have prompted a nervous smile on his part, though he said he was not enjoying himself at Verstappen's expense. In Suzuka on Thursday, when Richards asked whether the ejection was because of that Abu Dhabi question, Verstappen confirmed it was, before repeating his instruction to leave.

Verstappen's 2026 season compounds the frustration The incident unfolded against the backdrop of a difficult start to the 2026 season for Verstappen, who sits eighth in the championship standings with just eight points after two races. He finished sixth in Australia and retired in China due to a technical defect, leaving him 43 points behind the championship leader according to Corriere della Sera. The new power unit regulations introduced for 2026 have reportedly favoured Mercedes, while Red Bull has struggled to match the pace of its rivals. Verstappen has been among the most vocal critics of the new rules, telling reporters on Thursday: „This is the reality that we are in now. You just have to accept that at the moment” — Max Verstappen via Reuters According to 20 Minuten, Red Bull does not officially wish to comment on the press conference incident, but those responsible at the team are said to want to hold a discussion with Verstappen about the episode. The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka represents Verstappen's first opportunity to reverse his early-season form.

Verstappen won four consecutive Formula One World Drivers' Championships from 2021 through 2024, making him one of the most dominant drivers in the sport's recent history. Lando Norris claimed his first world title in 2025 with McLaren, ending Verstappen's run of successive championships. The 2025 title race was decided at the Abu Dhabi season finale, with Norris prevailing by a margin of two points. The Spanish Grand Prix penalty, which cost Verstappen nine points following a collision with George Russell, proved pivotal in that outcome.

2 (points) — Margin by which Verstappen lost the 2025 title to Norris

Road to the Suzuka confrontation: — ; — ; —

Richards, writing in The Guardian, described the episode as "an extremely rare occurrence" in Formula One, noting that barely anyone in the paddock could recall more than one or two similar examples across the sport's history. He said he had interviewed Verstappen roughly a dozen times over more than a decade of covering the sport, describing those encounters as "friendly and good humoured," and that criticism of the driver in his writing had been "minimal and only when warranted." Richards acknowledged the broader perspective directly: the day carried on, he wrote, and "there are far more serious issues in the world than an F1 driver being cross with you for doing your job." He noted that Verstappen had been smiling throughout the brief exchange at Suzuka, and speculated that the driver may have been "enjoying the power dynamic." No formal complaint or disciplinary process was reported by any of the outlets covering the incident, and the remainder of Verstappen's session at Suzuka proceeded normally for approximately ten minutes.