Amid a slow start to the 2025 campaign, Carlos Sainz received an unceremonious fine at the Japanese GP last weekend. As the Spaniard was late for the pre-race national anthem on the grid in Suzuka, the FIA gave him a fine of $65,000, which was later reduced to $21,000—half of which is suspended—after he provided a doctor’s note.
Apparently, Sainz had some discomfort in his stomach and had gone to freshen up, which caused him to be five seconds late for the anthem. Nevertheless, Sainz was not impressed with this financial penalty, as he put forth his candid thoughts during the media day in Bahrain on Thursday.
“So I was the first one to put my hand up and say, ‘I’m late. I’m sorry for that,” he said per the BBC. But after being just five seconds late, the Madrid-born driver was perplexed to understand the logic of a $10k fine.
In fact, Sainz’s candid comments in Bahrain, which included an expletive, about his penalty may see him receive another fine worth $45,000.
Firstly, Sainz capped off his initial thoughts by saying, “But yeah, I don’t know if I’m going to get another fine for saying this, but s*** happens.” Now, with the FIA strictly monitoring drivers using swear words and expletive language during official press conferences and media sessions, the Williams driver may receive a first offense fine per their latest guidelines.
Carlos Sainz was asked about his fine for being late to the national anthem at the Japanese Grand Prix after going to the bathroom pic.twitter.com/dsskCCK3Pa
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 10, 2025
The FIA introduced a strict clampdown on swearing in pressers last year, and F1 has the highest penalties among all motorsports. With updated fines ranging from $45,000 to around $130,000 for the three offenses of swearing or making disrespectful comments directed at an official or steward, the FIA have aimed to police drivers in terms of everything they say.
Naturally, all drivers are against such policing and have openly criticized the FIA for enforcing such guidelines. GPDA director George Russell once again reiterated in Bahrain that they are firm about their stance on financial penalties, including the latest swearing fines, and wish to have transparency on how they are calculated and where this money goes.
“We just want collaboration. It doesn’t make any sense to be fighting on these topics,” he concluded. Now, Sainz hasn’t been fined for using the word “s**t” in Bahrain yet. But if the FIA does so, this unrest among the drivers about fines against them would certainly escalate.
