Carlos Sainz criticises FIA’s F1 swearing clampdown as ‘too much’

Carlos Sainz agrees F1 drivers should not swear outside of the car, but believes it is “too much” to try and stop foul language on team radio.

Last month the FIA announced that F1 drivers could collect fines, points deductions or bans if they repeatedly swear or criticise the sport’s governing body under new misconduct guidelines.

It comes after reigning world champion Max Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” at the end of 2024 after he used an expletive during an official FIA press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Over the weekend, Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux became the first driver to fall foul of the new rules when he was fined €10,000 and hit with a suspended €20,000 fine for using “inappropriate language” during a World Rally Championship television interview.

Carlos Sainz critical of FIA rule

While new Williams driver Sainz accepts that swearing outside of the cockpit is not necessary, he thinks exceptions should be made when it comes to what unfolds behind the wheel.

“My honest opinion, in press conferences, drivers should be mature enough to control swearing. I don’t think we should be swearing in those situations,” Sainz told media including Crash.net at Williams’ launch of their FW47 at Silverstone.

“I am in favour of making an effort as a group – when all the kids are watching us in press conference or in front of the media – to at least have good behaviour and decent vocabulary. I think that’s not very difficult.

“Do we need fines or do we need to be controlled for that? I don’t know, but I’m in favour of always being well-spoken and well-mannered in front of microphones and in front of media.

"At the same time, do I think this is too much for radio communication and the adrenaline and the pressure that we have inside the car? Yes, I think it's too much what the FIA is trying to achieve with bans and everything.

"Because for me that's a fundamental part of the sport, where you guys get to see the real emotion and real pressure and the real excitement on the voice and even sometimes, unfortunately, a vocabulary of a racing driver.”

Sainz, who confirmed drivers were not consulted about the changes and learned of them through media reports, believes the passion from drivers in the heat of the moment is ultimately good for F1.

"And as long as it's not offensive words towards anyone and it's just a swear word, where you just can see I'm being emotional, I don't think that should be too controlled, because then you guys are going to miss out in a lot of stuff that we that we go through inside the car," the Spaniard added.

"And trust me, you don't want to put a microphone inside a football pitch and see what [players] are saying, which is an equivalent situation.

"It's good to have those kinds of moments, because you see the real driver. We are already very constrained as to what we can tell you about our teams, about our situations. We already have a lot of media briefings. They already tell us what to say.

"Sometimes I'm not easy on the radio, but when you hear that passion, when you hear those words, even if sometimes we swear on the radio, for me that's a keeper in F1, and that shouldn't be something we should get rid of."