Max Verstappen dubbed the FIA’s decision to punish him for using bad language in a press conference ‘ridiculous’ as F1’s swearing row begins to heat up.
Verstappen finished second fastest in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix, but the Dutchman has spent most of the weekend in the spotlight because of his off-track antics.
On Friday, Verstappen was revealed to have breached Article 12.2.1.k of the International Sporting Code – language used during the FIA press conference – and ordered to complete “some work of public interest”.
It came after Verstappen was speaking during a press conference ahead of this weekend’s race, with the Red Bull star describing his car as being “f****d” from set-up changes during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion has since hit back at the move though, commenting after qualifying on Saturday: “People got warnings or a little fine, and now with me they want to set an even bigger example I guess, which for me is a bit weird of course because I didn’t swear at anyone particularly. I just said one thing about my car.
“It’s in the code, you know? They have to follow the book, and it’s not the stewards. I don’t want to blame this on the stewards because I actually had a really good chat with them, and they need to follow the code, the book. I think they are quite understanding, but it’s difficult for them as well.”
Before doubling down on the claim what he did say ‘wasn’t that bad’. He continued: “I get that if you aim it at someone, that’s bad. Emotions can run high. But it’s still not okay, I understand that. But I felt like it was quite ridiculous what was given to me.”
It comes at a time when F1 chiefs are looking to clamp down on the language drivers are using, not only in pre-race press conferences but also on the track as well.
Before doubling down on the claim what he did say ‘wasn’t that bad’. He continued: “I get that if you aim it at someone, that’s bad. Emotions can run high. But it’s still not okay, I understand that. But I felt like it was quite ridiculous what was given to me.”
It comes at a time when F1 chiefs are looking to clamp down on the language drivers are using, not only in pre-race press conferences but also on the track as well.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, recently said: “I mean, we have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. We’re not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us].”
The Emirati official continued: “We are the ones who actually approved more talk [on the broadcast]. But we have rules, and the rules are there for the benefit of the sport and the rules are there to be policed and to be respected also.”
His comments have caused uproar among drivers, with Lewis Hamilton even claiming it had a ‘racial element’.
Racing gets underway in Singapore at 1pm BST.
