Towards the end of the 2024 season, the FIA decided to impose a crackdown on swearing to ensure drivers don’t curse on the team radio. Max Verstappen, unsurprisingly, was the first victim of the policy. The champion had to put in community service hours as a punishment.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had pulled Verstappen’s leg a few months ago by asking him to express how he felt about the punishment. That too without using any swear words.
Verstappen called it “ridiculous”, taking a dig at the FIA, claiming that in the heat of the moment, he used a cuss word about his car, which was not targeted toward anyone. Piastri himself has found it challenging to avoid cuss words after McLaren passed a decree to not use any abusive language.
In 2025, the FIA, despite protests from drivers and other entities, has decided to increase the severity of these punishments.
Drivers can now be fined up to $125k for swearing, which has led to widespread debates on what is right and what isn’t. Even non-F1 figures like Gordon Ramsay have made a joke out of this. Piastri, however, has a simple solution to avoid getting penalized.
“In the car, you say whatever comes into your head,” the McLaren driver said at the F1 75 launch event when asked about the swearing penalty. “Doesn’t necessarily mean you have to open the radio all the time…”
Without swearing, that was blinking warm. Good race, nice podium pic.twitter.com/Xmzx07qQcd
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) September 22, 2024
Piastri also acknowledged that drivers can be expected to remain ‘civil’ while in the car. However, he added, “We’re athletes doing our thing with adrenaline running. So, there’s only so much you can do to stop that.”
The Melbourne-born driver understands that it would be difficult for the FIA to prevent drivers from using the radio button or swearing in the heat of the moment. So, ultimately, it is up to the drivers to keep their language in check.
FIA’s plan to combat driver defiance
Drivers are unlikely to comply with the swearing crackdown and a statement from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association seems imminent.
As a result, the FIA is looking to resolve the issue once and for all. Initially, reports suggested they were considering a complete ban on team radio broadcasts during races.
As of now, though, the plan appears to be to censor offensive language in these messages — a reasonable compromise that avoids upsetting either side. Fans, however, are not too happy with it.
At the F1 75 event, the mention of FIA was met with loud boos — a clear sign of discontent. However, this is unlikely to change FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s stance on the matter.
