F1 drivers should carry on swearing
Social vulgarity or a reflection of human emotion?
Swearing is a divisive topic within society as a whole. Those who do it, inflict it upon others who don’t have a choice on whether they hear it or not. There is no choice.
There is, however, a decision on whether that individual deems it socially acceptable or not. And indeed how they react to it.
After all, would it deter someone from going to watch a film in the cinema if they knew it contained actors and actresses swearing?
Would they also think twice about attending a football match through fear of being upset at hearing the players or the fans exchanging expletives?
It seems a preposterous question to ask, but that’s where we currently are in Formula 1 following an Autosport exclusive interview the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who is seeking to stop drivers from swearing.
This forms part of a two-pronged clampdown: asking F1 not to broadcast the swearing and also introducing sanctions on drivers who continue to break the rules.
These are the same people who risk their lives each time they climb into the cockpit and try to deliver on-track for the thousands of people in their teams, not to mention the millions of supporters they have across the world.
Ben Sulayem’s comments on swearing have generated plenty of headlines
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
To me, it seems a natural reaction if they have crashed out of the race or have been on the receiving end of a dangerous move.
Sport, as Lando Norris pointed out on Thursday, is about the raw emotion. Please don’t take away that passion.
This is the human element that the viewers can empathise with, albeit having never raced an F1 car. It is part of the fabric of what keeps sport real and bonds the viewers with these multimillionaire sport icons.
It is unfathomable that Ben Sulayem, who reminds us at frequent intervals that he was a former driver himself, wants to stamp this out of motorsport.
Surely, he remembers his reaction to stuffing a Renault F1 car into the wall in 2009 in a drag race against a Ford GT in Dubai? Interestingly, no audio has ever been released from that embarrassing stunt.
I digress, but the point is the FIA should not be punishing drivers from airing their feelings during races. Of course, there are limits and racial or social slurs should never be tolerated, but swearing in frustration? Absolutely not.
As a parent, would I stop my kids from watching F1 because a driver might swear – especially, let’s remember, with it being delayed and bleeped out? Again, absolutely not. I’d genuinely like to find someone who is so easily offended by it.
Where I do agree with Ben Sulayem is that swearing should not be used in press conferences, especially those that are televised.
Verstappen has been punished for swearing in Thursday’s Singapore press conference
Photo by: Erik Junius
So when Max Verstappen said on Thursday on the live press conference that his “car was f*****”, in those incidents the FIA should remind drivers about their language.
Verstappen has since been ordered to do public service work as punishment from the FIA stewards for breaching Article 12.2.1k of the International Sporting Code.
This states it is an offence to issue “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA”.
Carlos Sainz also dropped the F-bomb when he mentioned his crash with Sergio Perez in Baku and said in his press briefing: “We were looking at each other and saying: mate, what the f*** happened there?”
Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen had earlier jokingly said he was back from his ban to “f*** s*** up”. But even with this, is that really going to offend people to the point we need to punish drivers?
My feeling is that we are now too sensitive on the subject. Punishment is simply not the answer. Allow us to make our own choices and interpretations on what we hear. Stop trying to control everything and let us be free to make up our own minds.
Ultimately, it is staggering that this is another issue Ben Sulayem has made his focus when it is clear the FIA has much bigger issues to address.
As with his previous attempts to outlaw jewellery, one wonders what he is actually trying to achieve.
Watch: Why Singapore Could be Ricciardo’s Last Chance in F1 – Singapore GP Paddock News
