Max Verstappen was in no mood to discuss his growing tally of penalty points after setting up a scintillating start to the Canadian Grand Prix by qualifying on the front row alongside Formula 1 rival George Russell.
All eyes will be on Turn 1 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve when the lights go out on Sunday afternoon, with Russell and Verstappen going head-to-head following a controversial incident at the Spanish Grand Prix last time out.
Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty and handed three penalty points on his superlicence for driving into Russell, when told by his Red Bull team to let the Briton through following an overtake.
The incident was widely condemned and the world champion later posted on social media that the move “was not right” and “shouldn’t have happened”, as he now teeters on a one-race ban, just a single point away from serving a suspension.
He was asked ad nauseum about the prospect of being forced to sit out a race during his media session on Thursday and when asked if he had to change his driving approach as a result, he said: “Why should I?”
But he went a step further when the subject was again broached during the post-qualifying press conference.
“I don't need to hear it again, it's really pissing me off,” he said. “You're speaking about it on Thursday, it's such a waste of time, it's very childish. That's why I also don't want to say too much because it's really annoying, this world that we live in.”
It harked back to the Thursday press conference in Montreal seven years ago when Verstappen was fielding questions about a number of recent crashes, eventually having enough and sternly replying: “Like I said in the beginning of this press conference I get really tired of all the questions, so I think if I get a few more I will headbutt someone.”
Despite his language, Autosport understands Verstappen will escape a fine, with “pissing” not a high enough threshold to be classed as swearing during a press conference.
He then gave short shrift to a question about whether his penalty point situation would put more pressure on him, although polesitter Russell offered an insight when asked if it would be different racing against Verstappen when he was on the cusp of a ban.
“I'm not sitting here thinking he's going to give us more room, if anything, probably the opposite to try and prove a point. So, I'll be keeping an eye. But ultimately, we're all here to win,” said Russell.
“And you're not going to do something that's going to jeopardise yourself from the race.
“So, it's a busy season as well. And if you get a race ban, you get a race ban, you spend some time at home, it's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world.”
Asked what he was hoping to achieve in Sunday’s race, Verstappen replied: “I think being on the podium, trying to be as competitive as we can be, trying to extract the most out of the car, but I don't know.
“We'll probably find out after the race if we did so, but yeah, hopefully we can just be good on tyre management.”
