202-race Formula 1 driver accused of ‘deliberately’ swearing during Singapore Grand Prix interview

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Formula 1 bosses will hope for a continuation of the exciting 2024 season at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. Having begun with more Red Bull domination, it has developed into one of the most gripping campaigns for years.

Seven different drivers and four different teams have won Grands Prix. No driver has won three races in a row all season, and the sport hasn’t even seen back-to-back victories since Canada.

Coming into each race, there are eight feasible contenders for victory. And most of the recent rounds have featured close battles in both qualifying and the race.

Inevitably, this will improve viewership. But the concern for FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is the image of the 20 drivers competing on track.

Ben Sulayem feels there’s too much swearing over the team radio. Any expletives are censored but the 62-year-old is nonetheless concerned about the impact on young viewers.

This was one of the biggest stories on media day ahead of the race in Singapore. Predictably, many of the drivers hit back at the leader of the sport’s governing body.

Andrew Benson on Max Verstappen’s ‘aggressive’ response to Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was one of the six drivers to feature in the pre-race press conference on Thursday. Under the current format, there are two separate sessions, with three drivers in each.

Verstappen appeared alongside Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda has likened himself to a Monsters Inc character given his tendency to swear in radio outbursts.

But his Red Bull counterpart was in a defiant mood. Speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast, BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson suggested that Verstappen purposely used expletives during the interview.

At one point, he said that ‘the car was f****d’ during the previous race in Azerbaijan. Verstappen upset some Red Bull staff in Baku with his complaints and has been consistently blunt about the issues with the RB20.

“I almost felt Max was doing it deliberately because of these comments,” Benson said. “He swore two or three times in the press conference. He reacted quite aggressively against the idea.”

What Max Verstappen said about FIA swearing clampdown at Singapore Grand Prix

As a three-time world champion heading for a fourth, Verstappen is one of the sport’s most important ambassadors. F1 drivers are in the unique position of wearing a microphone during the competitive action.

They have pointed out on numerous occasions that footballers, for instance, have a greater level of privacy. They can take time to collect their thoughts before they address the media afterwards.

Verstappen says reduced swearing ‘will not change anything’ for children watching F1. He feels other factors in their upbringing, such as the attitude of their peers, will be more influential.