Verstappen teases Antonelli with 'community service' joke after swearing mishap
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Max Verstappen has warned Kimi Antonelli he will let him know what "community service" is like in a lighthearted exchange between the pair referencing Antonelli's swearing mishap at the Drivers' press conference on Thursday ahead of the Italian GP.
Looking for the right words when answering a question related to high-speed crashes in F1, Antonelli became flustered after accidentally swearing, much to the amusement of those attending during F1's media day.
Antonelli immediately regretted the faux pas: "Sorry. Oh my God. Sorry. Sorry. I swore. But oh my God. What did I just do? Yeah. Now I'm going to worry about the fine that is incoming. But what was I saying?"
In a social media video captured by Mercedes, Antonelli discussed the incident with Red Bull's Verstappen, who himself had to complete community service in Rwanda in December 2024 as a consequence of swearing at that year's Singapore GP.
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A rather exasperated Antonelli, who also starts at the back of the grid this weekend, explained the situation to Verstappen."In the press conference, I said 'oh s***'," the young Italian said, before declaring: "Yeah, but it was in an innocent way, it was not proper..."
Verstappen quickly reassured the Mercedes driver: "If you're lucky, you can get away with it." The four-time world champion then drew on his own experience of facing punishment from the FIA over swearing, telling Antonelli: "I can let you know how it is, to do the community service," which got a laugh from the current championship leader.
Verstappen warns Monza will be 'really painful' under 2026 rules
However, there might not be much to smile about on-track for Verstappen this weekend, with the Dutchman previewing a "really painful" Italian GP due to the nature of the Monza circuit and the 2026 F1 rules.
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"Really painful, it's very energy inefficient, but I also don't want to be too negative about it all," Verstappen told media, including GPblog. "It's what it is, I accepted it mentally. Also, you know, just prepare for a weekend where it's a bit different. You cannot push flat out, you just have to be gentle with the throttle. Let's call it like that."
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