Thursday’s press conference ahead of Formula One’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix became heated as Max Verstappen defended his decision to ignore team orders in Brazil and slammed the media reports and widespread online abuse.
The double world champion refused Red Bull’s instructions to give up his position to teammate Sergio Pérez, who is fighting for second in the drivers’ standings. Verstappen hinted that the reason was because of an incident earlier this year, but he has not revealed further details.
The 25-year-old said in Abu Dhabi that the team “had a bit of a miscommunication” in Brazil, revealing that “on Saturday and Sunday nothing had been said to me about a potential swap or whatever. It only came into that last lap that it was said on the radio and I think they should have known my response already from what I said the week before.”
