Lewis Hamilton is never far away from the headlines and this weekend in Japan, he's turned on the reporters who write about him so often. The situation kicked off when Hamilton was playing with his phone during the FIA-mandated Thursday press conference, sharing pictures and jokes on social media. He aired his thoughts about the dull conferences, saying: "It's been the same for 10 years. It's not the media or mediator, it's the format. Fans should be asking the questions!"

The press weren't too happy with this situation, blasting Hamilton for being disrespectful to them and to the legion of fans who want answers to the questions being asked. Kevin Eason of The Times said: "Think the world champion could have ditched the phone and concentrated a little harder for the benefit of the huge Japanese audience."

Hamilton tweeted an update, clarifying that he meant no disrespect but was simply trying to liven up the atmosphere. However the reaction to his antics clearly still rankled with him, as the defending world champion walked out of a Mercedes press conference, saying he wasn't going to answer any questions.

"I'm not actually here to answer your questions, I've decided... The other day was a super light-hearted thing, and if I was disrespectful to any of you guys, or if you felt that I was disrespectful, it honestly was not the intention, it was just a little bit of fun. But what was more disrespectful was what was then written worldwide."

Throughout the argument, both sides have been talking about the merits of respect, but the situation just seems to be escalating. Hopefully it will not detract from the on track action this weekend.