Being a world-class athlete is a high-risk, high-reward job for Max Verstappen. On one hand, the reigning World Champion has made sure his name goes down in Formula 1 history for his brilliant skills. But at the same time, his fame has made him open to criticism from many people as well. One such critic happened to call Max out recently because he thinks the Red Bull racer has no social skills.

At the latest ‘No Hard Feelings’ podcast episode, the host, Josh Moss, interviewed his guest, Jeremy Franco. Now, Franco is famous for his role at iHeartRadio Australia, and he has interviewed Max Verstappen before. When the Dutch lion came to the Australian GP in March 2024, he had a hilarious conversation with Franco. However, the problem was that Max had a dead-serious face whenever Franco had cracked a joke, thus making things awkward for him.

During Jeremy Franco’s talk on the NHF podcast, Josh Moss reminded him of his Max Verstappen interview that had been “horribly wrong“. Moss said, “You interviewed Max Verstappen, one of the most famous athletes in the world. I actually found some of your jokes quite funny. [But] he kinda stone-faced you a couple of times!” In response to this, Jeremy Franco talked about how he had loved the interaction with Verstappen but had found the Dutch lacking social skills.

When Josh Moss asked his guest if the interview with Max was awkward, Jeremy said, “He’s been racing since he was, like, 10 years old. [And] professionally, in Formula 1, since the age of 16, I think. So, I don’t know if he’s built up much social skills in life.” Thus, the Australian content creator questioned Verstappen’s interactive powers. However, an incident from the 2021 F1 season shows Jeremy Franco’s assumption about Max might be wrong–so, what is it?

Max Verstappen had once laughed off a hefty $54,000 fine

Formula 1 is a tough sport with lots of rules and it can get even more challenging for racers who are in it to win it. In 2021, it was the first time that Max Verstappen was up for a World Championship victory (which he did get in the end). So, the Dutchman was in a massive battle for the F1 title against Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at that time. And in a moment driven by sheer curiosity, Verstappen had gone to inspect the rear wings of Hamilton’s W12, this violating some F1 rules.

In F1, you cannot inspect the cars of your rivals without notice since you might steal their technology. So, when Verstappen was caught touching Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes car, he got slapped with a hefty fine of $54,000. However, the Red Bull racer took it in stride and laughed off humorously. Speaking on the penalty, he even joked, “I hope they have a nice dinner and a lot of wine [with the fine money]! I hope good, expensive wine – that would be nice. They can invite me for dinner as well – I’ll pay for that dinner too.”

Thus, Max Verstappen clearly does not lack his funny bone. However, since Jeremy Franco had met him during a race weekend when the Dutchman was super focused, Max might not have laughed at his jokes. Do you think Franco is justified in calling out Verstappen for lacking social skills just because he did not find his jokes hilarious?