F1 drivers react to FIA swearing fiasco: "I can't afford it!"

F1’s drivers have had their say on the FIA’s recent clampdown on swearing.

The subject became a hot topic last year when Max Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” after swearing in an FIA press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Under new rules in the FIA’s International Sporting Code for the upcoming 2025 season, F1 drivers could face bans if they repeatedly swear or criticise the governing body.

First time offences will incur a €40,000 fine, with a second offence doubling to an €80,000 fine and suspended one-month suspension. A third offence would be punished with a €120,000 fine, plus one-month suspension, as well as a deduction of championship points. 

Verstappen used a phrase made famous by former Chelsea and Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho when discussing the topic at Tuesday night’s F1 season launch event at London’s O2 Arena.

“I prefer not to speak about that. Otherwise I’ll get in trouble,” the Red Bull driver told media including Crash.net.

The four-time world champion did later elaborate, adding: ”I mean, it's a lot of money. Honestly, from my side I think it's not necessary to be like that with the rules.

"I think you need to use a bit of common sense and, besides that, I prefer that we actually focus on other topics - to try and improve safety, try and improve the overall performance of Formula 1 cars - instead of actually having to focus on all these kind of things.

"It's a bit unnecessary, I think.”

F1 drivers critical of FIA swearing rule

Mercedes’ George Russell, who is a director on the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), admitted the rules are going “too far”.

“I’m not one who swears very often but for a lot of these drivers, English isn’t their first language,” he told The Sports Agents podcast.

“Kimi [Antonelli], my new teammate, the first Italian words he taught me were swear words. It’s not easy for a Japanese driver or whatever coming in to the sport, who doesn’t know the potential offence he may be causing.

“To then be punished so deeply, I think people will be treading on eggshells and thinking ‘hang on a minute, I’m not going to express myself in case I get fined or actually penalised points in my championship’. It’s going too far.”

Meanwhile, Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon said it is wrong to threaten F1 drivers with bans for swearing.

"There have definitely been discussions about it," Albon said. "It's still ongoing about how we want to set out what we say around it. It is a delicate matter and, of course, do we think it's right? Of course not.”

Yuki Tsunoda drew laughter from journalists during a Racing Bulls press conference when he made light of the situation.

"As a personal opinion, for me it's the thing that shows your personality,” Tsunoda said.

"In general, in sports, I guess it's not just us swearing, but for us, we have proper [media] training to not swear much. And actually, I don't swear much recently.

"Maybe I will swear more than before because I can't swear now in racing, so I'll try to not fudge up and not get fined.”

Racing driver escapes punishment

It appears a balance may be struck between F1, the drivers and the FIA over the use of profanity, based on recent cases in Formula E and the World Rally Championship.

Dan Ticktum escaped a penalty despite launching into an expletive-laden rant over team radio during last weekend’s Formula E race in Jeddah.

However, WRC’s Adrien Fourmaux got the unwanted title of becoming the first driver to be punished. He was fined €10,000 (with €20,000 suspended) for swearing during an interview on the championship’s official streaming service.

It is an indication that the FIA will only issue fines for cases where swearing has taken place outside of the cockpit.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer revealed the subject was a discussion point in the F1 Commission meeting which took place earlier this week.

"Interestingly, we all agree we want to keep those emotions alive,” he said. “We do already have the beeping from F1, with the delayed broadcast, which probably takes care of a lot of the emotions.

"Overall, it's going in the right direction, preserving the emotions, not making it too profane at the same time, and making sure that we develop as a sport."

For Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, it is very simple. He has no option but to watch his mouth.

"I certainly can't afford to swear, so that's a good start," he said laughing.

"But of course, it is a big topic of the off season, this new rule that's come into play, and I'm sure we're going to find a way to make all parties happy and figure something out.”

The saga was repeatedly referenced in jokes by F1 75 Live host Jack Whitehall, while the FIA’s logo was booed by the crowd inside the O2 Arena.