Formula One star Max Verstappen decided to limit what he uttered on Saturday, apparently displeased about being punished for earlier saying a bad word.
Verstappen finished second in Saturday’s qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, requiring him to attend the FIA’s official post-qualifying news conference alongside pole sitter Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, who was third.
But reporters who wanted full answers to questions were disappointed.
When asked to elaborate on a brief response, he declined, according to a transcript published by ESPN.
“I might get fined or get an extra day. So.”
Verstappen made it clear he wasn’t angry with the media and would speak freely outside of the official conference room.
But he clearly was rubbed the wrong way by the punishment he received Friday for saying, during Thursday’s official FIA press conference, that his car’s setup at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend was “f–ed.”
The FIA — the governing body of F1 — ordered him to perform work in the “public interest” after stewards reviewed an audio tape and found the word he used to describe his car as offensive and in violation of FIA policies.
The public-interest work he must perform was not specified.
An FIA representative prevented Verstappen from talking to reporters directly outside the official conference room, but as he walked down the stairs to the television broadcasters’ area, the Red Bull driver opened up about his feelings over the punishment.
“I find it, of course, ridiculous what happened,” he said, per ESPN.
“So why should I then give full answers because it is very easy, apparently, that you get a fine or some sort of penalty?
“So I prefer then not to speak a lot, save my voice, and of course we can do the interviews also somewhere else.”
Verstappen, a 26-year-old from the Netherlands, said he’s being used as an example.
“They want to set a precedent,” Verstappen said, per ESPN. “People got warnings or a little fine (in the past) and now with me they want to set an even bigger example I guess, which for me is a bit weird, of course, because I didn’t swear at anyone particularly, I just said one thing about my car.
“It’s in the code, you know? They have to follow the book and it’s not the stewards. I don’t want to blame this on the stewards because I actually had a really good chat with them and they need to follow the code, the book. I think they are quite understanding, but it’s difficult for them as well.”
Norris and Hamilton, when asked, both said they disagreed with Verstappen’s discipline.
“I think it’s a bit of a joke, to be honest,” Hamilton said. “This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made. I certainly wouldn’t be doing it (the community service) and I hope Max doesn’t do it.”
–Field Level Media