The FIA is one of Formula One’s governing bodies. It makes the rules that the drivers, teams, and crew members must follow. However, it’s also responsible for policing these rules and making sure adequate punishments are given to drivers who break them. Last weekend, at the Singapore Grand Prix, the FIA went too far by giving current world champion Max Verstappen a ridiculous penalty.
Multiple drivers don’t agree with the way the FIA has treated this situation and have complained to the GPDA to take action against these types of decisions and punishments. Read on to find out why the FIA punished Max!
Max Verstappen in Protest Against FIA’s Punishment for Speech!
In the interviews on Thursday, before the race in Singapore, Max Verstappen mentioned that his car was “F*cked” during the Baku Grand Prix. Later that day, he had to appear in front of the FIA stewards and was given community service as punishment for using the F-word.
Max, being Max, immediately retaliated by not taking part in any of the FIA-organised interviews for the rest of the weekend. During these interviews, he gave very short answers and told the journalists to ask him these questions “elsewhere.” After the official press conference, he waited for the journalists outside and gave an exclusive interview.
One of these exclusive interviews was held in the Red Bull hospitality room after the Grand Prix itself. He made sure to answer all questions extensively so that journalists still had their stories.
Other Drivers Side With Max Verstappen
Throughout the whole race weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix, drivers have been mocking the FIA’s decision. In interviews, they pause to think and mention that they might get community service if they say what they want. These drivers also immediately contacted the GPDA to fight the FIA in this decision and prevent things like this from happening in the future.
Even Lewis Hamilton, Max’s biggest “enemy” on the grid, said he agrees with how Max handles it. Hamilton has been vocal against multiple FIA decisions regarding personal expression. Regarding free speech, Hamilton is a big advocate for protecting drivers.
Most racers compare their sport with others, where the players will say worse stuff than an “F-bomb” here and there. But since they’re not recorded all the time a lot of these get missed. The F1 drivers blame the publishing bodies for airing the swearwords instead of filtering out those clips. Since these men drive at 300 Km/h and are filled with adrenaline, a swear word might be said.
The drivers are not asking for a free pass to say whatever they want. However, they want some leniency toward words that don’t harm anyone, which seems fair to most people.
