Max Verstappen was in a feisty mood in the final Thursday press conference of the 2022 season. 

The Dutchman was heavily criticised by many media outlets and online as he refused to give back P6 to teammate Sergio Perez on the final lap of the São Paulo Grand Prix four days ago. 

Verstappen was left unhappy with the coverage from media outlets within the paddock, and he condemned the abuse his family members had been receiving on social media.

“After that race, I looked very bad in the media, but they didn’t have the clear picture,” said the two-time World Champion. 

“To immediately put me down like that is ridiculous to be honest, because they don’t know how I work within the team and what the team appreciates about me. So all the things I’ve read are pretty disgusting.

“They’ve started attacking my family, they threatened my sister, my mum, my girlfriend, and my dad. That goes way too far when you don’t have the facts of what’s actually going on, and that definitely has to stop. If you have a problem with me that’s fine, but don’t go after my family, because that is just unacceptable.

“I just don’t understand when people don’t have the full picture to start attacking me like that. I hope one day they actually understand what was going on, because it’s just unacceptable behavior. Also in this paddock, to be honest. Not only fans but a lot of people, what they have been writing about me is ridiculous.”

As was the case with Perez, Verstappen refused to be drawn into details about what was said in the conversations that took place in the motorhome last Sunday.

Once again the 25-year-old did not hold back with his feelings in regards to what was written about him when answering the question.

“I won’t go into detail about that because it’s just between myself and the team,” he said. 

“But it’s just incredibly disappointing that, without knowing the full facts, that people write so many bad things straight away. I don’t know why that is but at the end of the day you contribute to the problems social media has, by writing these things. The team knows how I work with them and I’ve always been good to the team.

“We keep it between the team and myself. They don’t know the real story, so you don’t need to write the story. I’m just a bit fed up with all this bullshit just going around all the time. As soon as there’s something negative, it needs to be highlighted. It’s pretty sickening to be honest, being part of all that. At the end of the day I haven’t done anything wrong, people just misunderstood what was going on.”