F1’s break to take the sting out of Verstappen’s rift with the FIA
Max Verstappen’s rift with the FIA over their decision to hand him a community service sanction for swearing, is poised to fizzle out.
The Formula 1 world champion was left upset at the Singapore Grand Prix when he was summoned to the stewards for saying his car “was f***ed” in the previous race in Baku.
His comment, made during a live TV broadcast, drew the wrath of the FIA, who issued him with a community service penalty, the details of which are yet to be determined.
Verstappen said he posted his punishment in the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association WhatsApp group, declaring that “everyone was almost laughing, you know, like, ‘What the hell is that?’.”
However, with F1 now set for an unusually break, with no races until the United States Grand Prix in Austin on October 21st, the three-time world champion says he will be “taking a break from it all”.
In Singapore when he was asked post-race if he would continue putting on his own press conferences as well as the stipulated FIA one, he said: “I mean, let’s first take a break from it all, from F1 also in two weeks. at least two weeks, and go at it again in Austin. See where we’re at.”
Pressed for comment on his community service, he added: “At the moment I’m not even thinking about it.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, in the post Qualifying Press Conference
Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
“I’m just focused on the performance, what we are going to do for Austin and beyond. That’s what I’m thinking about and for me, I shouldn’t waste any energy on it actually because it’s just very silly.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he felt the situation surrounding the penalty application could have been managed better.
Horner, who was also forced to do FIA community service in the form of an online conference after commenting on a “rogue marshal” waving a yellow flag and disrupting Verstappen in qualifying for the Qatar GP in 2021, said: “I think that Max has made his feelings clear on it.
“Of course, all these drivers are role models, but language that’s used in everyday life… I think it would have been perhaps better dealt with slightly differently, which would have avoided any awkwardness.
“I’m not sure how much he’s talking in the FIA press conference now but I assume it’s relatively little.”
The FIA has been approached for comment from president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who had exclusively told Autosport of his desire to reduce the amount of swearing from F1 drivers ahead of the Singapore GP weekend.
