"What are you trying to achieve with that question?": When Sebastian Vettel took offense to a reporter's line of questioning

Former Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was previously irked by a reporter's line of questioning during the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix. The German driver moved to the Italian team at the start of the 2015 season after ending his successful partnership with Red Bull, which yielded him four consecutive driver's championships from 2010 to 2013.

Although Vettel had a bright start to his tenure with the Maranello-based outfit in 2015 and won thrice while finishing P3 in the driver's standings, the 2016 campaign was much more difficult owing to the reliability and driver errors.

During the race in Mexico, Sebastian Vettel was frustrated with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's antics on the track and was livid when the latter cut a corner and did not give back the podium place. The four-time F1 world champion used some choice words directed towards the young Dutchman and the then FIA race director, Charlie Whitling, for not penalizing Verstappen.

Max Verstappen was penalized for his actions and given a five-second penalty, which promoted Vettel to the podium. In his post-race interview with Channel 4, F1 reporter Lee McKenzie asked if Sebastian Vettel was mindful of the use of language while driving the car, as he was a role model to young karters. The Ferrari gave a sharp reply and said:

"What are you trying to achieve with that question? Do you think I think about little kids watching, of course not, I'm doing my race. Do you think little kids are thinking about me when they are racing? No, they're doing their race,"

He further added:

"It's a sport that we all love, we love racing, we love turning the wheel and doing our best, and when I close the gap, adrenaline runs high. So that's ultimately what we love, and sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't. I think the fact that people see us fighting and sometimes overstepping the mark, whatever, doing mistakes is part of the job," [3:20]

Sebastian Vettel's podium was taken away from him after he was given a 10-second penalty for his defence against Daniel Ricciardo during his scuffle with Max Verstappen.

When Max Verstappen termed Sebastian Vettel 'a child' for his radio rants

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen previously stated that he believed that Sebastian Vettel's rant on the radio during the 2016 Mexico Grand Prix was childish and needed to be looked into.

Speaking with F1.com, the young Dutch driver gave his opinion on his battle with Vettel and said:

"Sebastian just starts shouting on the radio, using very bad language. I think he has to go back to school or something. I will speak to him, because he is a very frustrated guy at the moment. First of all, shouting on the radio like a child, and then [gesturing] after the start finish - even more childish."

Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel had several close calls during the 2016 season, with the Dutch driver being criticized for his defensive tactics.