Max Verstappen orders journalist to leave media session in tense exchange

Max Verstappen ejected a journalist from a press conference ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix due to a question he asked at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen refused to start the media session and demanded that the Guardian's Giles Richards leave the Red Bull hospitality suite.

The four-time world champion confirmed that he demanded the exit of the journalist due to a question he asked during the post-race news conference in Abu Dhabi last year.

The Abu Dhabi question was directed at Verstappen’s 10-second penalty, which dropped him from fifth place to 10th, costing him nine championship points in a season in which he lost the title by just two points.

The exchange in the news conference, which happened four months ago, went as follows:

Journalist: "Max, you lost out to Lando by just two points. What do you think now about the incident with George Russell in Spain? Do you regret that looking back in hindsight?"

Verstappen: "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. I don't know.

"Yeah, it's part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds. I've also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that."

On Thursday, Max Verstappen found out the same journalist and asked him to exit his news conference.