When Max Verstappen said he 'might headbutt someone', and an English journalist took the bait

2026 marks the 12th F1 campaign for Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen.

Though he may have four more drivers' championships to his name than he did when he first made waves in the sport over a decade ago, what certainly hasn't changed about him is his petty reactions to F1's media.

The paddock journalists have been known to rile the Dutchman up throughout his career, with his fiery attitude both on and off the track earning him the infamous nickname of 'Mad Max'.

Some would argue the 28-year-old has come a long way from the brutally honest teenager who made his F1 debut at the tender age of 17 years, five months, and 13 days, but Verstappen just proved he remains as combative and principled as ever.

READ MORE: F1 journalist kicked out by Verstappen breaks silence over Japanese GP storm

Verstappen lashes out at F1 journalist in Suzuka outburst

Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen refused to speak to media on Thursday at Suzuka during a Red Bull media briefing due to the presence of Guardian journalist Giles Richards.

The British sports writer had made his way to the paddock expecting to hear from Verstappen ahead of race weekend, but upon being reunited with the Dutchman for the first time this year, Verstappen ordered the journalist to leave.

The British reporter had previously got on the wrong side of Verstappen at the final round of the 2025 championship in Abu Dhabi, arguing he had lost out on the drivers' title by just two points because of his controversial on-track incident with George Russell at last year's Spanish GP (something Verstappen did not agree with).

And so, when Verstappen walked into the Suzuka media session to be met with Richards, potentially for the first time since their 2025 disagreement, he declared: "I won't begin until he's gone."

The Red Bull star then kicked Richards out entirely, ending the conversation by ordering him to: "Get out."

Although Verstappen is no stranger to a press conference protest, this angrier side of him hasn't been on show in the paddock for a while.

It was however certainly on show back at the 2018 Canadian GP when the Dutchman said he might headbutt some reporters if they continued with the line of questioning he didn't agree with.

Here's how it unfolded.

Verstappen threatens F1 media with headbutt

In a press conference held in Montreal during the 2018 Canadian GP weekend, Verstappen was joined on the driver panel by Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Stoffel Vandoorne.

The trio faced questions from the media, with the particularly feisty Verstappen a favourite target for journalists due to recent crashes. But the reporters had been warned.

At the start of the press conference, Red Bull star Verstappen was asked if he had any plans to change his aggressive driving approach, a question he did not take kindly to.

In response, the then 20-year-old warned other journalists not to continue with this line of questioning, saying: "Well, you know, I get really tired of all the comments of me, that I should change my approach. I will never do that, because it’s brought me to where I am right now.

"After a race, it’s not the right time to talk. So everybody who has those comments, I don’t listen to it anyway. I just do my own thing. Of course, the beginning of the year so far it hasn’t been going so well, not in the way I liked it. A few mistakes, I think especially Monaco and China, but it doesn’t make sense to keep talking about it, because I get really tired of it.

"Yeah, it just feels like there are no better questions out there than to keep asking me about what happened in the previous weekend. So yeah, I’m just focusing on what’s ahead. I’m confident that I can turn things around. You know the speed is there. I’ve always been quick, every single weekend. It would be much of a problem if I was really slow, because that’s a critical problem."

Whilst you would have thought the Dutchman's stern response meant that was that from the reporters in regards to his aggressive driving style, the Daily Mail's Jonathan McEvoy then bluntly asked the Red Bull star: "Max, why have you had so many accidents?"

The Dutch driver replied: "I don’t know," before staring blankly, presumably straight at McEvoy, adding a painfully long pause to his answer.

Verstappen then made it clear he had had enough, saying: "And, like I said in the beginning of this press conference, I get really tired of all the questions, so… yeah… I think if I get a few more I’ll head-butt someone."

But... the questions still didn't end there.

The Press Association's Phil Duncan took the bait and later returned to Max, asking him: "At the risk of being head-butted, Max, I was just wondering do you think you can explain why you have had more crashes this year? Because you’ve had more than you’ve ever had in your Formula 1 career so far. It seems a legitimate question to ask.

Verstappen replied: "I don’t think so, just two which were my fault but I had, for example, three in one weekend in 2016 in Monaco. It’s not that dramatic as people say it is. Of course, I haven’t scored the points which I should have scored but that was not only my fault. Could have been better, but everybody makes it so dramatic."

READ MORE: Verstappen reacts after disqualification heartbreak'

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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