Drivers shouldn’t swear in press conferences, but leave team radio alone

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed the FIA’s stance against drivers swearing in official press conferences.

The FIA introduced a new set of guidelines imposing escalating fines upon drivers for swearing. The governing body’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is refusing to soften his stance in the face of opposition from Formula 1 and World Rally Championship drivers.

Wolff, who was given a formal warning for swearing in an FIA press conference in 2023, said drivers should use clean language when speaking to the media because they are representing the championship.

“We are ‘gentlemen’s sport’, we are high-tech, we represent that,” he said. “It’s different to more mainstream sports, I see us.

“Rugby for me is sophisticated and nobody would ever say a word to an official. So I don’t think we should be swearing about officials, that’s for sure.

“That’s why also the FIA needs to protect that, it’s clear. For me it is about respect for your competitors, respect to the officials, not insulting anybody, whether it’s your own people or whether it’s a competitor out there on track.”

However he does not believe drivers should be penalised for swearing on their radios while they are competing.

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“We don’t want to mute the drivers and their emotions. If we’re in a press conference, if we are being interviewed, there’s a completely different set.

“But in the car, as long as it’s not an insult and as long as it’s not disrespectful to somebody else, I would just let it go. But that’s my personal opinion.”

Williams team principal James Vowles expressed a similar view to Wolff during yesterday’s FIA press conference. “If a driver is in the car putting their life on the line, all of you in this room [and me] as well, would use words you’re not proud of in the heat of the moment. I think we have to accept that is the sport that we’re in.

“It’s probably a different environment when we’re here in this quiet room, because we are a representation of our sport, and we should be proud of what we are saying to the world. So I think we have to take a lens on what’s happening at different points.”

Mercedes driver George Russell predicted the furore over swearing will die down once the new season begins. “Always in the off-season you have a lot of non-racing-related stories because that’s the only thing that’s going on,” he said.

“I’m sure once we get through this week, we arrive in Melbourne, we’re all going to be focussed on the race and then ultimately for us that’s what we want to do. And for the fans, that’s all they want to see. So I don’t think the things that have been going on will overshadow anything.”

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