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Max Verstappen kicking out a reporter during the Japanese Grand Prix press conference appears to have had some unintended consequences for members of the press.
Verstappen’s outburst at a reporter last Thursday kicked off what ended up being a whirlwind weekend of news surrounding the Dutch driver.
Verstappen is no stranger to squabbles with the media, but his latest actions have led to people questioning his sensitivity.
Was Max Verstappen right to kick out a reporter during his press conference?
Last year, the reporter asked Verstappen if his Spanish GP move on George Russell cost him the title.
While Red Bull planned on addressing Verstappen internally, there has been no word on if he will face any consequences for his decision.
However, it appears Max Verstappen’s decision to go after the reporter has led to many other journalists being wary of him and other drivers going forward.
READ MORE: Will Buxton says drivers ‘couldn’t believe’ that Max Verstappen ejected journalist at Japanese GP
Max Verstappen has caused ‘unease’ among F1 press after kicking out reporter
On The Race’s F1 podcast, reporter Jon Noble spoke about the situation that took place between Max Verstappen and the reporter he kicked out.
He noted that after Verstappen’s outburst towards the reporter, other members of the F1 press are a little uneasy, wondering whether they’ll meet the same fate from him or other drivers they question critically.
“I don’t think the dust has fully settled; it appeared to have settled from what I understand. Things were moving in the right direction; whatever issues there were had been discussed. And they were going to move on.
“Max Verstappen gave that interview where he claimed that Giles had laughed in his face at the press conference, which wasn’t true… It’s given a twist on the story that’s unfair on Giles because it wasn’t a question where he was laughing in his face.
“The issue has bubbled up again. There’s some more talks going on, and it’s also triggered a bit of unease in the media centre, just about the fact that a driver can say something like this, it’s not factually 100% spot on, it stirs up toxicity, and social media issues…
“Consequences that come from something like this. The dust is far from settled. But hopefully, everyone can be grown-ups about this, move on, and we can get things sorted, and return to normal for Miami.”
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Max Verstappen’s outburst at reporter considered ‘unusual’
While Noble noted that disagreements between drivers and reporters are common, for things to play out the way they did with Verstappen isn’t a common occurrence.
“I think normal practice doesn’t happen every race weekend. But normally, over the course of a season, things tend to blow up, whether it’s with team bosses, PRs or drivers. So, it’s not unusual for things like this to happen.
“It’s rare for it to happen in a way that’s so public that sometimes if there’s a journalist that’s written something that drivers don’t like and have a problem, then it’s dealt with PRs, the journalists are told and advised. It’s very rare that you get a confrontational point like that. That is unusual.”
As things stand, Verstappen has not issued any kind of public statement about the matter outside of his initial comments.
But with Verstappen’s potential retirement being the talk of the town, the controversy surrounding his press conference has ironically become old news.
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