The Red Bull man interrupted a press officer before starting the conference, saying: “One second – I’m not speaking before he’s leaving.” Verstappen was pointing towards Richards, who in return asked whether he was being serious.
Clearly unimpressed, Verstappen gave the journalist his marching orders, responding: “Yeah, get out.” When he’d left, Verstappen once again chimed in with: Now we can start.”
Now, the journalist in question has opened up about the experience and given his side of the story. Writing in a Guardian column, Richards explained: “One incident last year, however, has seemingly touched a nerve. At the Spanish Grand Prix Verstappen drove into the side of George Russell’s car, for which he was punished with a 10-second penalty.
“It dropped him from fifth to 10th and cost him nine points. By the end of the season, after an extraordinary resurgence (heartily praised by me) and some good fortune as McLaren dropped points in the final races, Verstappen missed out on retaining his title by two points.
“After the season finale in Abu Dhabi I asked him how he felt about that incident and whether he had any regrets, a question that had to be asked. Verstappen took umbrage. ‘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.’
“And so, on to the press conference in Japan. After being told he would not speak unless I left, I asked if it was because of the question in Abu Dhabi. He said it was. Once more I was taken aback. I might have had a nervous grin again, who knows? I asked him to confirm if it was because of the question in Abu Dhabi about Spain. He did.”
Before concluding: “The incident and fallout are a shame nonetheless. Not least for the accusations of bias. Over the years I’ve been accused of anti-Lewis Hamilton, anti-Sebastian Vettel, anti-you-name-the-driver bias. Reporting as honestly and fairly as possible is always the single overarching aim.
“I still admire Verstappen and I hope we can enjoy a better relationship in the future. Sometimes, difficult, awkward questions have to be asked. That’s the job that comes with the privilege.”
It’s certainly added some spice to the weekend’s race in Japan, as Verstappen looks to become the first non-Mercedes car to break the top two this season. After that, there will be a month-long break following the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.