Formula 1’s drivers have called on the governing FIA and its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to treat them like adults amid the ongoing controversy around Max Verstappen’s community service order for foul language.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) urged Ben Sulayem to “consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise.”
F1’s drivers have united behind Verstappen after he was punished for swearing during an FIA press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 for swearing during the press conference which followed the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The GPDA’s letter wrote: “Our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery and underpants.”
The latter is a reference to the controversy which swirled around the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, when race director Niels Wittich made it clear the wearing of jewellery would not be permitted in the cockpit. Hamilton famously then turned up to the press conference wearing three watches, multiple bracelets, necklaces and rings to make a statement. The FIA had also made clarifications around ‘compliant underwear’ being worn in the cockpit.
The GPDA letter also questioned the use of monetary fines and asked for transparency about where the money from such punishment actually goes. GPDA president George Russell recently suggested a good use of the money would be to fund the salary of permanent race stewards, which he suggested would help quieten criticism over inconsistency over penalties.
The letter also took direct aim at president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his preference for making statements about the drivers and the state of the sport via the media, as he did with an exclusive interview with Autosport in September.
The latter in full read: “As is the case with every sport, competitors must abide by the referee’s decision, whether they like it or not, indeed whether they agree with it or not. That is how sport works. The Drivers (our members) are no different, and fully understand that.
“Our members are professional drivers, racing in Formula 1, the pinnacle of…
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