Verstappen riled by call for F1 drivers to mind their language

Mohammed Ben Sulayem told motorsport.com that the FIA had asked Formula One Management to minimise the amount of swearing on television.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing during the Singapore Grand Prix. | Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Max Verstappen said Formula One should not air team radio if the sport was concerned about bad language after the head of the governing FIA compared drivers to foul-mouthed rappers.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem told motorsport.com that the FIA had asked Formula One Management to minimise the amount of swearing on television. The Emirati said drivers also had a responsibility.

“We’re not rappers, you know,” the FIA president was quoted as saying. “They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that.

“Imagine you are sitting with your children and watching the race and then someone is saying all of this dirty language. I mean, what would your children or grandchildren say? What would you teach them if that is your sport?”

Verstappen, asked about the comments moments after using the very same ‘F-word’ in an FIA press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix to describe the state of his car, suggested the governing body was going too far.

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“Everyone swears, some people a bit more than others,” observed Red Bull triple world champion and current championship leader. “It also depends a bit on what language you speak.

“Of course, abuse is something else... but I think a lot of things get broadcast nowadays where in other sports you don’t run around with a mic attached to you.

“A lot of people say a lot of bad things when they are full of adrenaline in other sports, it just doesn’t get picked up. Where here, probably also for entertainment purposes, things get sent out,” he added.

“It’s just probably a bit the world that we live in... I think it already just starts with not broadcasting it or not giving the option for people to hear it.

“Of course, there are a lot of apps where people can listen to radios and stuff. You have to probably limit it, or have a bit of a delay, that you can censor out a few things. That will help a lot more than putting bans on drivers.”

Formula One already beeps out bad language on the global television feed, with some drivers in the past also deliberately swearing in radio exchanges with the pit wall to prevent information being broadcast more widely.

Verstappen suggested the FIA was fighting a losing battle anyway.

“Excuse me for the language but like, what are we? Five-year-olds? Six-year-olds?,” he asked.

“Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching, I mean, they will eventually swear anyway. Even if the parents won’t, or they will not allow it, when they grow up they will walk around with their friends, and they will be swearing.

“So, you know, this is not changing anything.”