Formula 1’s Grand Prix Drivers Association issued a statement Thursday asking for better and more respectful treatment from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The FIA has ham-handedly attempted to crack down on what drivers can and cannot do in recent seasons. This year, Max Verstappen was forced to serve community service for swearing during a news conference. Verstappen’s use of profanity came after Ben Sulayem had said that drivers should watch their language and that he wanted race broadcasts to show less clips of drivers using profanity while in their cars.
At the Mexico City Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc let a cuss word slip in an interview. He was subsequently summoned to the stewards and fined just over $10,000.
Here’s the statement in full from the GDPA:
“As is the case with every sport, competitors must abide by the referee’s decision, whether they like it or not, indeed whether they agree with it or not. This is how sport works. The drivers (our members) are no different and fully understand that.
“Our members are professional drivers, racing in Formula 1, the pinnacle of international motorsport. They are the gladiators and every racing weekend they put on a great show for the fans.
“With regards to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or driving situation.
“We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media about matters as trivial as wearing of jewellery and underpants.
“The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our sport. For the past three years, we have called upon the FIA President to share the details and strategy regarding how the FIA’s financial fines are allocated and where the funds are spent. We have also relayed our concerns about the negative image financial fines bring to the sport. We once again request that the FIA President provides financial transparency and direct, open dialogue with us. All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where the money is spent for the benefit of our sport.
“The GPDA wishes to collaborate in a constructive way with all the stakeholders, including the FIA President, in order to promote our great sport for the benefit of everyone who works in it, pays for it, watches it, and indeed loves it. We are playing our part.”
In 2022, the FIA said that drivers couldn’t wear jewelry in the car. The ban directly impacted Lewis Hamilton, who wore earrings in the car and had a nose ring.
Hamilton also took issue with the way that Ben Sulayem expressed his thoughts about drivers’ language. Ben Sulayem tried to say that “we have to differentiate between our sport, motorsport, and rap music.”
The seven-time champion is the only Black driver in the series and said that Ben Sulayem’s comparison was very stereotypical and had a racial element attached to it.
The next F1 race is on Nov. 24 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen has a 62-point lead over Lando Norris in the driver’s standings with three races to go and has a chance to clinch his fourth straight championship in Las Vegas.
