Max Verstappen has been ordered to “accomplish work of public interest” by Formula One’s rulers 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*****” in the official media FIA call to preview Sunday’s race here in the City State. 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.
Verstappen, 26, was summoned to the stewards at 19:00 local time (12pm BST) with the FIA releasing its verdict just 24 minutes later.
“The stewards heard from the driver of car 1 (Max Verstappen), team representative and reviewed the audio transcript,” a statement from the FIA 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. The stewards reviewed the transcript of the FIA Thursday driver press conference in Singapore and Max Verstappen used language to describe his car at the event in Azerbaijan which is generally considered ‘coarse, rude’ or may ’cause offence’ and is not considered suitable for broadcast. This is ‘Misconduct’ as defined in Art 20 of the International Sporting Code, and is a breach of Art 12.2.1.k.
“The stewards noted that the language was not directed at anyone or any group. 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.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“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’ (Art. 12.4.1.d of the International Sporting Code), in co ordination with the Secretary General for Sport of the FIA.”
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 (Ben Sulayem) 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.”