“Drivers Also Have Egos”: Jos Verstappen Warns FIA for Blowing Max’s ‘F*ck’ Out of Proportion

Jos Verstappen (NLD), 1 Max Verstappen (NLD, Oracle Red Bull Racing), F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring

Amidst all the hype on track last season, one of the biggest talking points off of it was the FIA’s rigid stance on drivers using profanity. Max Verstappen faced the brunt of this when he was issued a community service penalty for using the word “f*ck” during the post-race press conference at the 2024 Singapore GP.

His father, Jos Verstappen, has now come on record to lambast the governing body of the sport. More particularly, he singled out FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, whose ego drive started this mess in the first place according to the 52-year-old.

Speaking to Formule1.nl, Jos said, “Well, the FIA ​​obviously overdid it with those penalties. You can’t give a penalty every time someone says f*ck. The drivers have egos as well. But talk to them and make it clear that they should use certain words as little as possible.”

The former Benetton driver went on to explain that in the heat of the moment, that particular swear word isn’t even aimed at someone or something. Moreover, he highlighted how F1 is a sport of high emotions and the FIA shouldn’t be trying to eliminate that from it.

How Lewis Hamilton stood up for Max after his swearing controversy

It was right before the Singapore GP that Ben Sulayem had stated that he was going to go after the drivers who swore during the press conferences. Unfortunately for Max, he was the one to utter those words.

It led to a huge hue and cry from the governing body, who deemed it fit to slap a community service penalty on the now four-time world champion. But it isn’t only the Red Bull driver’s father who is up in arms about the FIA’s latest mandates.

Hamilton had himself come on record to denounce the FIA’s penalty. He was quoted as saying, “I think it’s a bit of a joke to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made. I certainly won’t be doing it (community service) and I hope Max doesn’t do it.”

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Jos Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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