Swearing punishment could speed up F1 exit – Verstappen*

Max Verstappen said after the Singapore Grand Prix that his punishment for swearing in a news conference could speed up his exit from Formula 1.

The Dutchman, 26, has often said that he is not motivated by having a long F1 career and breaking all the records, and that he has other things he wants to achieve in motorsport.

But after a weekend dominated by a controversy over his behaviour in news conferences, Verstappen made it clear his patience was wearing thin.

“These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things,” he said.

“Now I am at the stage of my career where you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring.

“For me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure.”

On Friday in Singapore, Verstappen was ordered by race stewards to “accomplish some work of public interest”. It was a punishment for swearing while describing his car’s performance at the previous race in Baku while speaking in the official pre-event news conference on Thursday.

He staged a protest against the decision by giving short answers in the official post-qualifying news conference on Saturday, before speaking to journalists outside the room.