Max Verstappen stages protest ahead of Singapore Grand Prix - 'It's just ridiculous'

However, he was then punished by the FIA on Friday - with stewards ruling that the Red Bull star should 'accomplish some work of public interest' as penance.

Verstappen had used an expletive to describe his car's performance in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last week.

The FIA are keen to clamp down on drivers swearing, especially as Formula One continues to grow in popularity.

After finishing second in qualifying for the Singapore GP, Verstappen then decided to stage a protest in his press conference following the session.

The Red Bull driver gave very short answers and said he'd instead talk more fully to journalists afterwards.

Verstappen, after giving the blunt answers, then told Sky Sports in the pen that he felt the decision to punish him was 'ridiculous'.

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He also made it clear it was a 'slip of the tongue' moment, rather than anything more sinister.

"It's just ridiculous to get a penalty for that," he said.

"When you insult someone, that's pretty clear. I didn't even aim it at a person. It's a bit of a slip of the tongue moment.

"It's in the rules. Honestly, this is not even to the stewards as they are just bound by the rulebook.

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"I actually had a great chat with them about it, they are very understanding, but it's in the rules and you have to apply something.

"But for me it's not the right way to go forward in our sport."

Verstappen's protest comes after FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem sparked controversy by comparing drivers to rappers.

"We're not rappers, you know," Ben Sulayem said.

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"They say the f-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That's them and we are (us)."

Lewis Hamilton has had a big rivalry with Verstappen over the years, particularly when they were both fighting it out for the F1 title.

But the 39-year-old opted to put that aside by backing his Red Bull driver and criticising Ben Sulayem for his comments.

"With what he said, I don't like how he has expressed it," he fumed.

"Saying 'rappers', is very stereotypical."

He added: "If you think about it, most rappers are black, so, it says 'we are not like them'.

"So I think those are the wrong choice of words and there is a racial element there."

Verstappen is set to start the Singapore Grand Prix second in the grid, with Lando Norris first and Hamilton third. Whether he can bounce back after a testing few months remains to be seen, with his last race victory coming on June 23.