Max Verstappen hits out at British media: ‘Where are they all?’

Max Verstappen followed up his sublime wet weather win at Interlagos on Sunday with another blistering attack in the drivers’ press conference, this time on the British media.

Red Bull’s three-time world champion, who all but guaranteed a fourth successive drivers’ crown with his victory in Brazil, having started 17th on the grid, enjoyed turning the tables on his detractors after the race, asking where are you now?

Verstappen was unhappy with criticism of his aggressive driving style at the previous two races in Austin and Mexico, and with what he perceived to be double standards on the part of the stewards.

The Dutch driver said he had “the wrong passport” for Formula One after criticism from pundits including 1996 world champion Damon Hill who questioned whether the 26 year-old was “capable of racing fairly” as it was not in his nature.

“I know what most people are like, it’s nothing new,” Verstappen told Dutch media in the build-up to Brazil. “Last year was perfect, so it must have hurt a lot for many people that they couldn’t say anything negative.

“Now they’ve got the chance to say something, so they’re all coming out of the woodwork. At the end of the day, I’ve got the wrong passport for this paddock.”

Verstappen was also unimpressed with former driver Johnny Herbert, one of the stewards in Mexico, who suggested the Dutchman drove McLaren’s Lando Norris off track on purpose in order to help his title bid.

Verstappen called Herbert’s theory “a pretty extreme accusation”.

“I didn’t do anything on purpose,” he said. “They can’t look inside my head. It’s a pretty extreme accusation. We just raced hard.”

‘I don’t see any British press’

After surging from the back of the grid at Interlagos to the front of the race, Verstappen interrupted the drivers’ press conference to raise his own query. “I have a quick question here,” he said. “I mean, I appreciate all of you being here, but I don’t see any British press.”

Laughing, he added: “They had to run to the airport? Or they don’t know where the press conference is?”

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who had finished second and third respectively, joined in the laughter with the latter commenting: “That’s a fair question.”

Verstappen now leads the drivers’ championship by 62 points from Norris with a maximum of 86 still left on the table. He is guaranteed to win the title if he finishes ahead of Norris at the next race in Las Vegas on November 23.