One of the main talking points from the Singapore GP was the penalty Max Verstappen received for swearing during the press conference. Unlike other penalties where drivers receive fines or on-track penalties, the FIA decided to punish Verstappen by obligating him to “some work of public interest”. Now, the rest of the F1 drivers are getting involved to discuss whether this penalty was fair or not.
After the Azerbaijan GP, the FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem went on the record to say that he is not happy with how frequently the F1 drivers use swear words. He also said that he would be taking a closer look to see if this can be controlled.
🚨 | FIA President, Ben Sulayem, recently made a controversial statement regarding drivers swearing on radios:
“We’re not rappers. There is a difference between our sport, motorsport, and rap music.”
Lewis Hamilton comments on the remarks:
“I don’t like how he’s expressed… pic.twitter.com/i1htQXywdJ
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 19, 2024
But there is already a regulation that states that F1 drivers cannot use swear words during press conferences. However, this rule was not strictly enforced until this weekend. When Max Verstappen used a swear word during Thursday’s press conference, the FIA felt that this was the time to set an example.
This decision to give Max community service did not sit well with the F1 community. Not just the fans, but even the drivers feel this is all absurdly hilarious.
F1 Drivers to have private meeting to discuss Max Verstappen penalty
After Verstappen received his punishment, he quickly took the matter to the Grand Prix Drivers Association. When he was asked if the other drivers supported him, he said:
“Yeah, for sure. Of course, I wrote in the GPDA [chat] the ruling, and everyone was almost laughing like, ‘What the hell is that’ basically. So, yeah, it is very, very silly.”
Christian Horner on the penalty Max Verstappen received from the FIA:
“Max has made his feelings clear on it. All these drivers are role models, but language is used in everyday life, it perhaps could’ve been dealt with slightly differently, which would have avoided any… pic.twitter.com/UuPYAYBzBt
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 23, 2024
Since the matter is now taken to the GPDA, the chairman of the association, Alex Wurz said that this matter will be resolved internally rather than through the media.
“Personally, I always believe, and we also do this at the GPDA: we solve it internally,” he said. “We don’t go through the media.”
Back when Guenther Steiner was the team principal of Haas, he was quite popular for using swear words during his interviews.
“How many lifetime community services would Guenther Steiner have to serve for using the F-word?” said Wurz, who also tweeted about the topic. “He was glorified for using the F-word.”
Guenther Steiner became more popular when the Netflix series Drive to Survive was broadcast. He would have definitely had to serve a lot of community service if the FIA were strict then. But now, the GPDA is going to step in.
With Max Verstappen receiving support from all of the drivers, the GPDA will most probably come up with a solution after speaking with the FIA. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
