There was a moment at Suzuka on Thursday afternoon when Formula 1's defending four-time world champion simply decided he was not going to speak — not until the correct journalist had stood up, packed away a notebook, and walked out of the media room.
That journalist was Giles Richards, the F1 correspondent for The Guardian. And Max Verstappen's ultimatum was delivered with zero ambiguity.
"1 second, I'm not speaking before he's leaving," Verstappen said, pointing in Richards's direction. When asked directly if he wanted Richards to leave, his reply was two words. "Yep, get out." Then again, for good measure. "Get out."
Only after Richards had exited did Verstappen begin the session. "Now we can start."
It is not entirely mysterious why Verstappen had chosen this particular reporter to make an example of. A previous press conference had seen Richards return, at some length, to the Barcelona incident that ultimately decided the 2025 championship against Verstappen. On Thursday, Verstappen's broader frustration with that line of questioning spilt into view.
"At the time, you forget all the other stuff that happened in my season," he said, refusing to hide his irritation. "The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come. You're giving me a stupid grin now. I don't know. Yeah, it's part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds."
Richards, reflecting publicly on the exchange shortly after, framed it as a first in a long career on the paddock beat.
"When he saw me, he stared, smiled, and declared he would not speak until I left. He told me to get out," the Guardian writer recounted. "I have never been asked to leave a press conference. And naturally, this raised serious questions. Why would a driver of Verstappen's stature react this way?"
The broader context, as Firstpost's analysis of the incident noted, is not flattering for Verstappen. Under the new 2026 power-unit and aero regulations, Mercedes have emerged as the benchmark outfit, Ferrari are inside the fight and Lewis Hamilton looks visibly rejuvenated in red. Red Bull, for so long the team that dictated the grid's rhythm, is suddenly the team with the most questions to answer.
Thomas Maher of F1 Insider went further than most in his reading, pointing out that Verstappen's response fits a pattern. The Dutchman has boycotted a Dutch broadcaster over coverage he disliked, accused British media outlets of bias and, earlier in his career, threatened physical retaliation against a rival driver. The defence of Verstappen has historically been that these are the rough edges of a young champion learning to handle a relentless spotlight. That defence has worn thinner with each incident.
"Greatness in sport is not just about championships," Firstpost's commentator argued. "It's also about composure, about handling pressure. But facing scrutiny without losing control. Yes, the media can be harsh. Yes, the narratives can be unfair. But the greatest champions, they absorb it, they respond to it, and they rise above it."
The question Suzuka left hanging was a simple one.
"Can Verstappen reset, refocus, and let his driving do the talking again?" the Firstpost analyst asked. "Or will these off-track controversies start overshadowing everything he has built?"
Red Bull issued no public comment on the incident. The Guardian, as expected, has continued to cover the championship exactly as before.
For now, the Verstappen of 2026 — wrestling a car that team principal Laurent Mekies admits is not at Mercedes's level, and still visibly wounded from a title loss he never fully accepted — is a noticeably shorter fuse than the driver who coasted to four straight crowns. Ejecting a single British reporter from a Thursday media session at Suzuka was a small moment. The bigger question is how much more of this the 2026 season is going to produce.
