F1 drivers ask FIA to treat them like adults over swearing row

On the back of the swearing saga, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has now issued a statement, urging FIA to treat them like adults in the future.

The issue arose after Mohammed Ben Sulayem issued a statement several weeks ago, confirming that the FIA will take a stricter approach regarding swearing. Just days after the FIA President’s announcement, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was investigated for using bad language at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Dutch racer was due to attend FIA’s press conference that usually takes place on Thursday ahead of race weekends. The reigning champion used bad language for which he was summoned to the stewards.

The incident happened after Verstappen was asked to reflect on the performance of his car, describing his car’s setup at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as “f—ed”.

After the stewards reviewed the audio transcript and heard from the driver and Red Bull team representatives, they elected to punish Verstappen for swearing in the pre-event press conference, with the Red Bull driver now obliged “to accomplish some work of public interest”.

Most recently, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 in Brazil for swearing during the press conference which followed the Mexico City Grand Prix.

F1 drivers’ association, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has now issued a statement, urging FIA to treat them like adults in the future.

The latter in full read: “As is the case with every sport, competitors must abide by the referee’s decision, whether they like it or not, indeed whether they agree with it or not. That is how sport works. The Drivers (our members) are no different, and fully understand that.

“Our members are professional drivers, racing in Formula 1, the pinnacle of international motorsport. They are gladiators and every racing weekend they put on a great show for the fans.

“With regards to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as a Formula 1 car, or a driving situation.

“We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery and underpants.

“The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our sport. For the past three years, we have called upon the FIA President to share the details and strategy regarding how the FIA’s financial fines are allocated and where the funds are spent. We have also relayed our concerns about the negative image financial fines bring to the sport.

“We once again request that the FIA President provides financial transparency and direct, open dialogue with us. All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the Teams and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where the money is spent for the benefit of our sport.

“The GPDA wishes to collaborate in a constructive way with all the stakeholders, including the FIA President, in order to promote our great sport for the benefit of everyone who works in it, pays for it, watches it, and indeed loves it. We are playing our part.

“Best regards, The Directors and Chairman of the GPDA on behalf of the Grand Prix Drivers #RacingUnited for our Safety, our Sport, our Fans”