The Brazilian GP was a rollercoaster of a race. With Max Verstappen winning from 17th on the grid, he anticipated media to be swarming him after the race. However, there was rarely any media spokesperson in the post-race press conference, which led the Dutchman to joke about how the British media suddenly became absent after he won the race.
To battle his claims, Sky F1 presenter, David Croft joined the scene and asserted that it was nothing out of the ordinary for media personnel to not be present. Max Verstappen had been on the receiving end of criticism for his driving in recent races. With FIA also doubling down on him, the 27-year-old stated that he had the wrong passport to race in F1.
Witnessing the feud between him and British media rising day by day, fans knew the Dutchman was enraged by the reporting of his races which consequently acted as a boost of motivation that his father admitted. This motivation helped him win the rain-affected Brazilian GP with a staggering 19-second margin. Despite his masterclass in the rain, he observed that primarily, no reporter was representing a British news outlet, making him take a jibe at their absence.
This did not go well with David Croft, who elaborated upon the reasons why British media were not present at the conference. Sometimes there’s more to a story than just a sound bite or a chance to attack people for perception of British bias. For my part, as it’s a press conference for written media only, I never attend the post-race conference, no matter who’s won.
Thursday press conferences are different, they are for broadcast and written media together. The quotes from this are freely available to all media, hence other journalists might be off gathering other stories at the time, in the knowledge that they won’t miss anything said at the FIA post race presser. David Croft wrote on XSometimes there’s more to a story than just a sound bite or a chance to attack people for perception of British bias.
For my part, as it’s a press conference for written media only, I never attend the post race conference, no matter who’s won. Thursday press conferences are… https://t. co/kgJqL87TEo— David Croft (@CroftyF1) November 5, 2024However, Croft’s reply was met with grave eyes among fans.
Fans insisted that the 54-year-old’s statements revealed that he took the blame on himself, which could further back the claims of him being biased toward Englishmen in the sport. RELATEDRed Bull reportedly faces $20 million demand to poach Franco Colapinto away from WilliamsMax Verstappen’s claims were further battered by another F1 personnelThough David Crofty’s reply made everyone seem skeptical of the issue, another person working in the sport also replied to Verstappen’s claims. He revealed the stark revelation about Dutch media’s absence in a similar way to British media, despite a Dutch driver winning the race.
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)F1 photographer Jamey Price revealed the details of the nationalities of the journalists present at the conference, shedding more light on the issue. There was no Dutch media in the post race press conference either. By my count there was one French journalist.
Four Brazilian journalists, Tom Clarkson (host) , the tv camera operator……. . and meJamey Price wrote on X…There was no Dutch media in the post race press conference either… By my count there was one French journalist.
Four Brazilian journalists, Tom Clarkson (host) , the tv camera operator……. . and me 😂 https://t.
co/WOUchWb60v— jameypricephoto (@jameypricephoto) November 5, 2024RELATEDChristian Horner applauds Max Verstappen for silencing critics with incredible Brazilian GP victoryIn spite of the chaos within the paddock, Verstappen has extended his lead in the driver’s title. With him having a cushion of 62 points over Lando Norris, the McLaren driver would require a miracle to win his maiden championship this season.
