Formula 1 News: Drivers in ‘tug of war’ with FIA over swearing (Update)

(GMM) The FIA is yet to respond to the letter put out by the Formula 1 drivers’ union.

Earlier in November, angry about Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s clampdown on bad language, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association published a statement urging the FIA president to “also consider his own tone and language”.

“Our members are adults,” the GPDA added. “They do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewelry and underpants.”

The letter also called on Ben Sulayem to explain “where the funds are spent” when drivers are fined by the FIA.

Two weeks after the publication of the statement, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was asked about it by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, including the thorny current issue of driving standards and guidelines in F1.

“We are reasonable enough people to understand when we break the rules,” he said. “On the track it is important to have a judge who evaluates the situations impartially.”

As for the request to know how the FIA spends the drivers’ financial penalties, Leclerc added: “We are not asking for everything, just a bit of common sense and a bit more transparency about the destination of the money collected from the fines.

“Until now we have had no answer,” the Monegasque driver said.

On Wednesday in Las Vegas, GPDA director George Russell says the drivers were also not informed ahead of time that F1 race director Niels Wittich was being fired.

“It was a big surprise for all of us,” he said. “There is now a lot of pressure on the new race director with only three drivers left.

“But as drivers, we always get the impression that we are the last to hear these things. It affects us directly, so it would be nice if we were kept informed.”

(GMM) Formula 1 drivers have hit out at the sport’s governing body and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, insisting they want to be treated like “adults”.

Ben Sulayem recently clamped down hard against the language used by the drivers, even sentencing Max Verstappen to community service and fining Charles Leclerc 10,000 euros for uttering the word ‘f*ck’ in press conferences.

But in a statement, put out by the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) on its brand new Instagram account, the drivers described themselves as “the gladiators” who want to be taken more seriously.

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They insisted there is a difference between swearing “to insult others” and “more casual swearing” like Verstappen’s reference to his “inanimate” Red Bull car or Leclerc recalling a “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,” the drivers said.

“Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewelry and underpants.”

The GPDA is also asking questions about the monetary fines imposed upon them, calling on Ben Sulayem “to share the details and strategy” about “where the funds are spent”.

Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel thinks the GPDA has drawn a clear line in the sand.

“The message is ‘stop this now’,” he told Dutch radio Slam. “They’re saying ‘We understand up to a point, but we are the actors and we want to partly determine the rules of the game’.

“It is becoming a bit of a tug of war.”

Coronel added: “I think it’s important that the FIA makes a point about name-calling, but I also think it’s important that the drivers say ‘This far and no further’.

“The rules should be determined by the FIA in consultation with the drivers,” he said. “That’s really what this is all about.”