Fear has been raging in the paddock ever since the FIA released their latest guidelines on swearing and misconduct fines. Considering that drivers are being increasingly scrutinized on how they behave and what they say during interviews and press conferences, many of them are afraid to talk.
Drivers have developed a tendency to apologize in advance and hope they do not get fined for accidentally swearing before they answer any questions from the media. Williams’ Carlos Sainz made similar remarks when he was asked to share his thoughts on the $21,000 fine—half of which is suspended—he received for coming late by five seconds to the national anthem in Japan last weekend.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get another fine for saying this, but s*** happens, you know, it’s the way it is,” the Spaniard said during the Bahrain GP presser. He added that he is the biggest supporter of punctuality and was the first one to apologize for the mistake, which George Russell hilariously referred to was an “expensive poo”.
However, considering that he was just five seconds late and that too, due to stomach problems, he was disappointed to receive such a huge fine. But after Sainz said “s***” during the press conference in Bahrain, many wondered whether he would get another fine.
Veteran F1 photojournalist Kym Illman raised the question in one of his videos of whether the Williams driver may just escape the $45,000 fine for swearing, as it is unclear whether “s***” is considered an expletive. However, per Racing News 365, the FIA was not quite happy with Sainz’s choice of words.
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While they made the surprising call of not penalizing him, considering the precedent they have set with all their swearing fines, they did warn the 30-year-old. The report adds that an FIA delegate in Bahrain had a lengthy chat with Sainz over his diction and ultimately decided not to fine him since the Spaniard was regretful about what he said.
The Madrid-born driver claimed he wanted to find a creative way to add some humor in his response, but admitted he failed badly in his attempt. If this report is true, drivers moving forward will also need to be careful using the word “s***”, as it would be clear that the FIA considers it an expletive.
