David Coulthard shows understanding for the spat between Max Verstappen and an F1 reporter in the run-up to the race weekend in Japan. Following a critical question in Abu Dhabi last year, Verstappen showed the journalist in question the door at Suzuka. “Get out,” the Dutchman ordered. Coulthard understands Verstappen’s feeling and recalls his own frustrations with the press. At the same time, he finds it striking that the FIA did not intervene in this case.
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During the FIA press conference in Abu Dhabi, a British journalist asked about the incident between George Russell and Max Verstappen during the Barcelona GP. The Dutchman received a penalty for it, causing him to miss out on nine points. With those nine points, Verstappen could have ultimately won the world championship. He already reacted irritably at the time, but in Japan, the matter had a sequel when he figuratively showed Richards the door: “I won’t start until he leaves,” the four-time champion stated sharply.
Asked for his opinion on Verstappen’s action, Coulthard said in the Up To Speed podcast: “Well, I see it this way. It’s probably not something Max will feel good about afterwards. Because although he was absolutely right – you don’t have to answer the question – it is unusual to ask someone to leave such a press room. I’m actually a bit surprised that the FIA hasn’t made itself heard. He hasn’t been reprimanded or anything like that, while if he uses the word ‘shit’, he immediately has a fine slapped on him.”
‘Criticism remains difficult’
Coulthard understands where Verstappen’s frustrations come from and remembers an incident from his own career. “I can only compare it to my own racing career,” he continued. “Of course, I didn’t win any titles, but I certainly received criticism from various journalists and it’s very difficult not to take that personally. Of course, every question was justified in a sense, but it wasn’t easy to keep getting the same questions. In addition, some journalists were very negative.”
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The Scot cited a specific example: “I remember a journalist writing: ‘David has an amazing talent for talking about an incident as if he wasn’t behind the wheel at the time.’ I was really shocked; he clearly thought I was always trying to make excuses when I had crossed the line. Oh well, maybe I was too defensive in hindsight. Eventually, I made up with that journalist and we moved on. But it remains difficult to take that public criticism.”
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