"How old am I?"

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Max Verstappen will not be shut up.(Bild: Getty Images/APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/CLIVE ROSE)

Max Verstappen paid very little attention to the request to stop swearing at the press conference. In any case, the Red Bull driver refused to apologize for calling his car "fucked" in the run-up to the Singapore GP. 

Asked about last weekend in Azerbaijan, Verstappen replied on Thursday: "When I went into qualifying in Baku, I knew that this car was fucked. Everything was crap, the tires were eaten up. That has to get better." 

"Everyone does it"
An inappropriate choice of words, in the opinion of the press conference host, who asked the Dutchman to please stop swearing like that. A request that the three-time world champion refused to comply with. Verstappen replied: "I will always swear. Everyone does it, some more, some less. In Formula 1, it's simply broadcast - unlike in other sports where the athletes aren't constantly wired up. For us, it's done for entertainment reasons - and then it's exploited on social media."

"The world is so thin-skinned these days"
According to the 26-year-old, if any scenes were not broadcast, nobody would hear them. "The world is so thin-skinned these days. Am I not even allowed to use the F-word? How old am I? 5 or 6? And even if a 5 or 6-year-old is watching, they'll swear at some point anyway, even if their parents don't want them to. When they grow up, they'll be running around swearing with their friends."

Verstappen may not yet have any reason to swear with the drivers' championship in mind, but the competition is getting closer and closer. Ahead of the weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris is down to 59 points ...