Formula 1 drivers have written an open letter calling on the FIA to treat them like adults following recent controversies surrounding the penalties for ‘misconduct’ such as swearing.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), in fact the trade union for active F1 drivers, posted the letter on Instagram on Thursday morning following recent conversations about growing unease over the FIA’s actions under President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
In Singapore, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was ordered by the FIA, F1’s governing body, to do a day’s community service after describing his car as ‘a bit f–d’ at a press conference.
It prompted Verstappen to protest at the FIA press conference after qualifying and the race, deliberately giving short answers before labeling the call as ‘ridiculous’.
Last week, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 after accidentally using the word ‘f-‘ when describing his narrow avoidance of a high-speed crash in Mexico.
Verstappen’s frustration was shared by his fellow drivers, with GPDA director and Mercedes driver George Russell revealing in Mexico that there were plans to write a letter summarizing their collective feelings.
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In the statement on “driver misconduct”, the GPDA said that while its members understood that a referee’s call in sport should be accepted, there were issues that it believed needed to be better addressed.
“With regard to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, as you might use us to describe bad weather, or even an inanimate object such as a Formula 1 car, or a driving situation,” part of the statement reads.
The drivers also urged Ben Sulayem to “consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or even about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise.”
It came after Ben Sulayem, in an interview with Autosport in the week before the fine against Verstappen, expressed his frustration at the amount of swearing drivers were uttering on their car radios. “We’re not rappers, you know,” Ben Sulayem said. “They say the f-word how many times a minute?”
Ben Sulayem has been FIA president since December 2021 (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, was unimpressed by what he called “very stereotypical” comments from the FIA president, which he said contained a “racial element”.
The GPDA also said: “Furthermore, our members are adults, they do not need to be instructed through the media, on matters as trivial as wearing jewelry and underpants.”
In 2022 Hamilton was subject to investigation by the FIA after it ruled he could not race while wearing earrings and a nose stud, jewelry he had long kept in place while in the car.
Another area where the GPDA called for clarity was how the money raised through financial penalties imposed on drivers by the FIA during the season was used.
“The GPDA has expressed its view on numerous occasions that financial penalties for drivers are not appropriate for our sport,” the statement said. “For the past three years we have been calling on the FIA President to share the details and strategy on how the FIA’s financial penalties are allocated and where the money is spent.
“We also expressed our views on the negative image that financial penalties bring to the sport. We once again request the FIA President to provide financial transparency and direct, open dialogue with us. All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) must jointly determine how and where the money is spent for the benefit of our sport.
“The GPDA wants to work constructively with all stakeholders, including the FIA President, to promote our great sport for the benefit of all who work in it, pay for it, watch it and even love it. We play our role.”
The Athletics has contacted the FIA for comment.
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(Top photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)