Johnny Herbert, a former race car driver and FIA official, has explained why Max Verstappen was punished for swearing during a live news briefing.
The people in charge of F1 gave Verstappen a community service order because he cursed during a live TV news conference at the Singapore Grand Prix. This choice was made soon after FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem gave an exclusive talk in which he told drivers not to use bad language.
In the interview, Ben Sulayem talked about how important it is to keep a professional image in racing. He said:
“We have to tell the difference between our sport, which is motorsport, and rap music. Just so you know, we’re not rappers. How many times a minute do they say the F-word? We’re not on that. That’s them, and we are [us]”
Herbert’s Thoughts on the Choice
Herbert, a steward at the Singapore Grand Prix, made it clear that Ben Sulayem’s comments did not directly affect the punishment. However, they did put light on how people use language in F1 in general. “Max used the ‘F’ word about his car at the press conference in Singapore.” he said. The press briefings are shown all over the world. There are more bad words than ever before. It’s not appropriate to say that at a press meeting.
He played down worries that these punishments are meant to turn drivers into robots, saying, “Some journalists have said the sport is trying to turn the drivers into robots.” That’s not true. They are only being asked not to swear, which I believe is the right thing to do. A lot of drivers don’t swear.
Herbert said that the problem was fully dealt with:
“The incident was brought to our attention as stewards.Even though it was tough, we had a good, honest conversation with Max for about 20 minutes to half an hour.”
