Remarkable rumour about Ben Sulayem and Verstappen: True or false?

Max Verstappen bit his tongue. His body language clearly showed what the Red Bull Racing driver thought of the time penalty that ultimately cost him the victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But he said little else. "I think it’s better not to talk about it. Anything I say or try to say about it might get me in trouble," Verstappen said to the media, including GPblog.

A day after the race through the streets of Jeddah, a rumor circulated on social media that it was FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem who had personally told Verstappen in Parc Fermé that he was forbidden to speak negatively about the motorsport federation. This story is supported on social media by a video of Ben Sulayem and Verstappen in conversation.

But was that really the case? GPblog has closely investigated this rumor and can say with absolute certainty that the president of the FIA did not mention any sanction if Verstappen were to speak ill of the federation. This conspiracy theory can thus be definitively thrown in the trash.