During Red Bull’s previous era of ground-effect supremacy, such was the dizzying level of domination, there was often not much to write home about when attending Max Verstappen’s media sessions. That is now very much not the case. On the contrary, his powerful outbursts to the press have been a regular vignette of the new Formula 1 season in its opening phase.
When did you first hear of Verstappen’s grumpiness? Was it his stinging disapproval of the new 2026 cars at pre-season testing and the first two races? Was it the Dutchman banishing a British journalist in Japan for a question asked three-and-a-half months ago? Was it his threat to quit F1 at the end of the season, vocalised on Sunday after finishing eighth at the Japanese Grand Prix?
