Lewis Hamilton urges Max Verstappen to refuse ‘joke’ community service order

Lewis Hamilton has sensationally urged Max Verstappen not to carry out what he described as a “joke” of a community service order from the FIA for swearing, with the Dutch driver effectively going on strike in what was a bizarre post-qualifying press conference in Singapore.

An increasingly diverting championship battle was given another boost as McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole for Sunday’s race beneath the street lights of Marina Bay Circuit. The Briton, who pipped Verstappen and Hamilton to pole in a session affected by a late crash involving Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, lies 59 points behind Verstappen with seven races of the season remaining.

But the track action was completely overshadowed by the row over swearing which has exploded in the last few days. Red Bull’s three-time world champion was told he would have to “accomplish some work of public interest” after being warned about his language in Thursday’s press conference. Responding to a question about the previous race in Baku, Verstappen had said he knew his car was “f-----” as soon as he left the pits in qualifying.

It was immediately obvious that Verstappen was trying to make a point in Saturday’s post-qualifying press conference, giving virtually monosyllabic responses to questions from the moderator about his car. Asked what he had changed, he replied: “A lot”.

Asked whether he could elaborate on that he said: “No, I might get fined or get an extra day.”

Was he confident with the race pace? “Maybe.” How much of a step into the unknown was it? “It’s an unknown.”

‘I don’t want to upset you’

At this point, Verstappen decided to address the FIA’s moderator — the same one who had warned him about his language on Thursday — directly: “This is not aimed at you,” he said. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to upset you.”

When it came to the time for journalists to ask their questions, Verstappen said he would prefer to answer them “outside of the room”.

It was at this point that Norris and Hamilton were asked for their views on the community service punishment given to their colleague.

Norris initially decided to have a joke at his friend’s expense. “He deserved it,” he laughed. “Foul language! No, I think it’s pretty unfair and I don’t agree with any of it.”

Hamilton — who has engaged in a long-running feud with FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem — agreed. “It’s a bit of a joke to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made. I certainly won’t be doing it and I hope Max doesn’t do it.”

Verstappen looked as if he was enjoying himself, joking that he could not give long answers as he had a “problem with his voice”. But he was as good as his word afterwards, speaking to reporters in the paddock.

“They want to set a precedent and with me they wanted to set an even bigger example, which for me is a bit weird,” said the Red Bull driver. “I didn’t swear at anyone. I just said one thing about my car. It is in the code. They have to follow the book.

Verstappen added: “I don’t want to blame the stewards. I had a really good chat with them. They are quite understanding but it is difficult for them, too. What I said wasn’t that bad. I get it if you aim it at someone. Emotions can run high but I felt it was ridiculous the punishment that was given to me.”

Asked whether he had the support of his fellow drivers, Verstappen nodded. “Some speak out more than others. But in general it is quite clear what everyone thinks.”

It remains to be seen how long Verstappen keeps this up, or whether the FIA might escalate things still further, but Verstappen noted that he was careful to answer the questions put to him, even if his responses were curt.

Hamilton delight at third

Sainz’s crash in Q3 caused a delay, and when the drivers came back out for their top-10 shootout they only had time for one go at a quick lap. Norris, who has looked fastest all weekend, did enough to take pole, even if he said it was “a bit messy”. Verstappen said he was happy to be on the front row given where his car had been in practice, while Hamilton was even happier with P3, his best qualifying result since the British Grand Prix.

“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year,” he said. “I’ve just been working and working and working to get myself back up there. All of a sudden it came together.”

The seven-time world champion edged out Mercedes team-mate George Russell by just 0.026secs, with Norris’ McLaren team-mate Piastri fifth, 0.428secs slower than Norris.

It was a disastrous session for Ferrari, with Sainz crashing and Charles Leclerc only capable of ninth place on the grid.

Meanwhile, in what could be Daniel Ricciardo’s final race in the sport, the Australian was unable to make it out of Q1. The RB driver — who it is rumoured will be replaced by Liam Lawson for the next race in Austin — will line up 16th in Singapore.