Verstappen stands firm in media standoff: 'I’m not speaking before he’s leaving'

Like the rest of the grid, the Dutchman was on media duty at Suzuka on the eve of the race weekend, fielding questions from journalists after competing at the Nordschleife the previous week.

However, Verstappen reportedly took a firm stance, insisting he would not begin the press session until a journalist from The Guardian had left the room.

“I’m not speaking before he’s leaving,” he is said to have declared, with the reasoning linked to a question that same reporter had put to him following last season’s title defeat in Abu Dhabi.

At the time, Verstappen had been asked whether he regretted the incident in Spain involving George Russell, and whether that moment ultimately proved decisive in handing the championship to Lando Norris.