The most talented sports stars always get given some extra leeway, but now it’s time for Red Bull and the FIA to rein Max Verstappen in. It’s clear he’s not in a happy place right now, given how much he hates this new generation of F1 cars. And Red Bull’s lack of performance isn’t helping, with Max saying yesterday that the RB22 he has been saddled with is riddled with “big problems”.

But that doesn’t excuse his shocking treatment of one of the most respected members of the regular F1 media. On Thursday, he told Giles Richards, the correspondent for the Guardian, to “get out” of his scheduled session with members of the written press. Why? Because of a question he asked in a press conference over three months ago.

And a perfectly valid one at that. Despite winning the Abu Dhabi GP, Max had missed out on the title by just two points. So it was entirely relevant to ask afterwards, as Giles did, whether he regretted angrily banging wheels with George Russell in Barcelona earlier in the year, incurring a penalty which cost him nine points.

He’d just missed out on the title so the snippy response Max gave at the time, when the disappointment was still so fresh, can of course be easily forgiven. But we can’t accept a driver waiting for months to then deny that reporter access for no good reason.

Because all he did was his job. He asked a tough question, trying to elicit a good quote – one with emotion and humanity, rather than the sort of corporate soundbite that elite sportspeople are trained to offer up these days. Without experienced and intuitive reporters like him, asking probing questions, fans would never know half of what they do about F1.

It was a session put on by Red Bull and not an official press conference, and so no FIA representative was present and the governing body could not intervene. It was disappointing, though, that the team allowed Max to decide who was and wasn’t allowed to do their job.

It’s been reported that team principal Laurent Mekies has since told his star driver not to do it again. Let’s hope he was able to make Max listen.

Giles was there because the FIA has accredited him as a member of the written press, and that should be good enough for everybody. We can’t allow a situation where free reporting of what happens in the secretive world of the F1 paddock is hampered by petty grievances.

In an open letter sent this week to shareholders of Exor, the largest part-owner of Ferrari, CEO John Elkann made a point of saying the team “fell short of ambitions” last year.

While that’s undoubtedly true, this is also the same bloke who told Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc last November to “talk less and focus on driving”, when the drivers were clearly the least of Ferrari’s issues.

So I’m not sure I’d trust him to tell me what day of the week it is, never mind offer any reasonable assessment of the Scuderia’s fortunes.

Fernando Alonso took fans’ breath away at Suzuka in 2005 with a fearless overtake on Michael Schumacher around the outside of 130R, one of F1’s fastest corners, at 185mph.

Fast fact

Across the 39 previous runnings of the Japanese GP, 22 constructors’ and drivers’ titles have been decided. The most recent was in 2023 when Verstappen’s win sealed the championship for Red Bull, while Suzuka famously served as the final battleground for three years in a row between 1988 and 1990 for McLaren team-mates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Inside track

Oliver Bearman’s stunning start to the new season may still be overlooked by Ferrari, who are understood to have had their fears about Lewis Hamilton’s longevity eased by the seven-time champion’s own strong performances. Bearman is seen as his fellow Brit’s long term replacement but may have to spend another year with customer squad Haas if Hamilton’s strong form continues.