F1 drivers fight for their right to swearYURI CORTEZ – Getty Images
The 2024 Formula 1 season was the most competitive in three years, leading to a three-way chase for the Constructors’ Championship as we approach the final month of the season. Despite all that excitement, one of the most consistent storylines surrounding the sport this year is… the FIA’s war on swearing drivers. Now the Grand Prix Drivers Association is taking official action with a statement advocating a driver’s right to swear.
FIA president Mohamed Ben Sualyem kicked off the curse saga in September he told Motorsport that the sanctioning body had asked F1’s media leadership group to restrict even censored recordings of drivers swearing on their radios during races. That interview, which contained a derogatory reference to rap music Lewis Hamilton asked questions about this later that weekwas just the beginning. Max Verstappen does fine for calling his car ‘fucked’ during a press conference a day later drivers to express their concerns about the fine.
After Charles Leclerc was received a similar fine last weekdrivers went one step further. Their group, the Grand Prix Drivers Association, issued a statement on Thursday on the issue of “driver misconduct.” In the statement, released on social media, the drivers’ group noted the difference between swearing as an insult and “casual swearing” that “you might use to describe bad weather.”
The statement goes on to express concerns about Sulayem’s tone on other issues, noting that the members “are adults” and that they “do not need to be instructed through the media, on matters as trivial as wearing of jewelry and underpants.”
Finally, the GPDA has raised concerns about both the fines themselves and what happens to the fine money after drivers lose it. The drivers also say they want to “work together in a constructive manner” with stakeholders, including Sulayem. However, until these talks take place, the FIA will apparently continue to fine drivers for swearing in official interviews.
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