One of the biggest talking points in F1 recently has been swearing — something drivers didn’t think twice about before. But since the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem restricted it massively last year, things have changed. Max Verstappen still went ahead and cursed in a public press conference, further stimulating the FIA’s crackdown.
Ben Sulayem wants F1 drivers to behave appropriately, which, according to him, means avoiding swearing in public.
Verstappen never agreed with this and, ahead of the 2024 Singapore GP, described his RB20 as “f*cked” in the presser. This led to a community service penalty for the Red Bull driver, which further resulted in a war between the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) and the FIA.
However, the FIA has not changed its stance. In fact, just months before the 2025 season, F1’s governing body introduced new rules on swearing and misconduct, with increased fines ranging from $40,000 to $125,000 — all for simply uttering the F-word.
Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas, however, does not agree with what the FIA is doing and backs his team’s driver.
Not the GPDA boss Alexander Wurz revealing that the drivers were all unhappy in the WhatsApp group about the community service Max got for swearing pic.twitter.com/tNm7vWIE22
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) September 21, 2024
Nicholas has worked closely with Verstappen — who seems to be the focus of this crackdown — and insists that he never takes offense when the Dutchman has a go at him, even if he uses colorful language.
“I think the important thing to remember is that they really are operating in that window where, you know, they’re under a great deal of pressure,” he said to talkSPORT. “We never sit in our garage and think to ourselves, ‘he’s being mean to us'”.
Nicholas even admitted that mechanics like himself in the garage, can also swear occasionally. That’s because of the nature of their work. It’s a high-stakes environment, where there’s little margin for error. Language, quite presumably, is the least of their concerns. “Like you said, it’s a high-stress environment.”
He further spoke about the FIA labeling it a driver’s moral obligation to be a good role model to kids. Of course, no one wants their children to pick up bad words at a young age, and get in trouble where they shouldn’t. But Nicholas has a different perspective.
He doesn’t think it’s down to the drivers to make sure others’ kids grow up with the right teaching. “As a parent, I’d think the responsibility is mine,” the Brit added.
Drivers on the grid will be forced to follow Ben Sulayem’s new rules regardless. There are provisions that the stewards may handle these swearing instances on a case-to-case basis, and impose lesser fines. Still, whether the GPDA releases another statement or boycotts this change altogether, remains to be seen.
