Verstappen must do ‘public interest’ work over swearing
Max Verstappen has been given a public service punishment by Formula One chiefs after he swore in a televised press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen described his Red Bull at the previous round in Azerbaijan as “f****d” in the official media FIA call to preview Sunday’s race.
Verstappen’s language, which was deemed “coarse” and “rude” by the FIA, came after the sporting federation’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said he wanted F1’s stars to stop swearing over the radio.
After a review of the transcript, the stewards ruled that Verstappen’s language had represented “misconduct”.
“The stewards noted that the language was not directed at anyone or any group,” the verdict said.
“When summoned to the stewards the driver explained that the word used is ordinary in speech as he learned it, English not being his native language.
“While the stewards accept that this may be true, it is important for role models to learn to be mindful when speaking in public forums, in particular when not under any pressure. Verstappen apologised for his behaviour.
“The stewards note that significant fines have been levied for language offensive to or directed at specific groups. This is not the case here.
“But, as this topic has been raised before and is well known by the competitors, the stewards determined to order a greater penalty than previously and that Verstappen be ‘obliged to accomplish some work of public interest’ in co-ordination with the Secretary General for Sport of the FIA.”
After he finished 15th in practice on Friday, Verstappen was asked for a word on his FIA sanction. Leaning into the microphone, he said “no words” before walking away.
In an interview with Autosport, released prior to Thursday’s press conference, Ben Sulayem courted criticism for comparing drivers to rappers.
“We’re not rappers, you know,” he said. “They say the f-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are us.”
Responding to Ben Sulayem’s remarks ,Lewis Hamilton said: “With what he said, I don’t like how he has expressed it. Saying ‘rappers’, is very stereotypical.
“If you think about it, most rappers are black, so, it says ‘we are not like them’. So I think those are the wrong choice of words and there is a racial element there.”
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