This week FIA President Mohamed Bin Sulyaem made the bizarre statement that he was trying to eliminate drivers swearing from the sport because he didn’t want them sounding like rappers. While the statement and the motivation behind it are certainly questionable, the FIA took no time in enforcing it.
At this week’s grand prix in Singapore, championship leader Max Verstappen has already come under the scope of the new policy for dropping an f-bomb at a press conference when talking about his lack of pace in Baku.
And the stewards have already decided that he will have to be subjected to FIA community service as punishment.
Yes, really.
Via Autosport:
Max Verstappen has been ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” by the FIA stewards for using foul language in a press conference at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The world champion made his remarks during Thursday’s official media gathering when he was asked about why team-mate Sergio Perez had been quicker than him in Azerbaijan last weekend.
Verstappen responded: “I don’t know, man. Different set-up. So as soon as I went into qualifying, I knew the car was f*****.”
[…]
The investigation found Verstappen in breach of the regulations, the stewards’ report read: “It is the policy of the FIA to ensure that language used in its public forums, such as press conferences, meets generally accepted standards for all audiences and broadcasts. In particular this is true of statements made by participants in the World Championships and thus being role models both inside and outside the sport.
This isn’t the first time Verstappen has been punished in this capacity. In 2019, Verstappen had to follow stewards at a Formula E race after an encounter with Esteban Ocon.
Still, the discipline levied so soon after the FIA president swore to crack down on swearing apparently shows how serious he is when it comes to getting profanity out of the sport. What’s next – time penalties during races if someone is caught using the f-bomb? Drivers will need to start studying The Good Place to see how best to get around such an unusual and absurd situation. Because holy forking shirtballs this is ridiculous.
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