F1 Driver Rappers Vs FIA - The swearing sxaga

The FIA has decided to punish Max Verstappen for swearing in the press room. The FIA imposed a public service duty on Verstappen which has caused an uproar from fellow drivers. Most notably, Seven-time driver world champion Lewis Hamilton wades in to back Verstappen and publicly insinuated that community service should not be served by Verstappen.

Clearly, there is a moral standard issue here. Ordinarily, it is not OK to use inappropriate words such as swearing in a public-facing forum such as the press room. In a sense, the FIA is right to push back on such behaviour. Unfortunately, the FIA has a poor record when it comes to moral standards. They have not been seen to follow the regulations of their standards. Most notable is how they turned a blind eye to Abu Dhabi 2021 where the championship clearly, appeared to be fixed. They did not investigate, they did nothing. Then there are the backroom deals when teams are found to have broken the rules. The smokey Ferrari of 2020 comes to mind and the recent quiet business with Redbull. All handled in a quiet backroom arrangement it appears to the fans of the sport.

Ironically, the FIA does not have a foot to stand on when it comes to moral standards matters as they are seen to be lacking of it. This saga only serves to show how rotten the image of the FIA is at the moment.

FOM are seen to be no better as they are seen to be complicit in all of the FIA doings. So where does the moral ground stand? Who has that upper moral ground to call into question any inappropriate conduct when moral standards have been breached? Unfortunately, Mohammed Ben Salayem's FIA seems to be facing revolt everywhere they turn. FOM and FIA had their stand-off over Andretti's entry into F1. Now they are facing revolt from the drivers. The teams seem very cold on supporting the FIA, even for a matter that should be reprimanded.

Should Verstappen be punished for swearing in the press room? I wonder what you think.

I don’t believe the drivers should be punished for swearing during a race when pumped full of adrenaline.

I think the odd curse here and there saying “it’s shit” or something rather benign is okay as long as it’s not regular in interviews. Saying that, I actually support Max on this and the way he is handling it. And if I were him I wouldn’t be doing the community service either.

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Originally Posted by The Black Knight

I don’t believe the drivers should be punished for swearing during a race when pumped full of adrenaline.

I think the odd curse here and there saying “it’s shit” or something rather benign is okay as long as it’s not regular in interviews. Saying that, I actually support Max on this and the way he is handling it. And if I were him I wouldn’t be doing the community service either.

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During high-octane moments in the car, yes it would be expected that some slip of the tongue would occur. But when a driver sits in front of the press, they are effectively facing the world. In such circumstances, they are expected to be composed and careful about what they say and how they say it. Because that is the moment they are playing the role of being a role model.

I think a verbal admonishment would have sufficed with a warning. A repeat of such conduct should of course be formally fined. The sport should have a standard of decency above crass behaviour, l think. If l were Verstappen, l would have made an open apology to cool things down.