Karun Chandhok highlights four ‘serious’ F1 issues GPDA should focus on over FIA swearing row

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Formula 1 drivers have sent the FIA a letter complaining over penalties for swearing but Karun Chandhok sees four ‘more serious’ issues that the GPDA should focus on.

The FIA and Formula 1 drivers have been engaged in an ongoing row of late about penalising profanity. Max Verstappen was ordered to do community service for swearing in a pre-event press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix while describing how bad his Red Bull car was.

Charles Leclerc was also fined €10,000 (£8.5k) for swearing in a post-Mexico City Grand Prix presser while describing the Ferrari star’s near race-ending off. Half of his fine is suspended pending no repeat in 12 months as Leclerc was sharing his reaction and instantly apologised.

Karun Chandhok highlights track limits as one more ‘serious’ issue in F1 than swearing

Verstappen and Leclerc’s penalties followed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem striving to crack down on swearing in Formula 1. The Emirati even enraged Lewis Hamilton when Ben Sulayem likened F1 drivers to rappers regarding their usage of the F-word in radio messages.

Hamilton stated Ben Sulayem’s claim had a ‘racial element’, and it was not the first time that the Mercedes pilot and FIA president clashed having previously butted heads about his nose stud and drivers wearing jewellery. Now, drivers have united via the GPDA to make a stand.

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The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has written a letter to the FIA asking it to treat F1 drivers like ‘adults’ who ‘do not need to be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants’ following more than two years of the saga.

All 20 current Formula 1 drivers are members of the GPDA, for which George Russell is even a director. Within its letter, the GPDA also urged Ben Sulayem to ‘consider his own tone and language’. But Chandhok claims there are four ‘more serious’ issues for the GPDA to act on.

“In my view, there are more important things in Formula 1,” Chandhok explained to GPblog. “This thing about the cursing and the jewellery and underpants and all that… I’m not sure if that is really the most serious issue for drivers in F1?

“I think the most serious issue should be about the guidelines for racing, track limits, creating tracks with natural deterrents like gravel in key places and creating clear and fair rules for everybody to go racing that everyone understands.”

The FIA has already agreed to modify F1’s controversial racing guidelines

The FIA has already agreed to tweak the racing guidelines by which its stewards judge racing incidents after Lando Norris’ controversial penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track in the United States Grand Prix. The F1 drivers were almost united in calling for improvements.

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Russell revealed that ’19 out of 20’ agreed that the FIA should change F1’s racing guidelines immediately ahead of the Mexico City GP, where Verstappen drew two 10-second penalties for illegal moves on Norris under the initial guidelines after forcing his title rival off the road.

Track limits also remain a frequent gripe for Formula 1 drivers and modifications to Turn 12 at the Circuit of the Americas might have prevented Norris’ penalty. The McLaren driver was slapped with a five-second penalty after utilising the acres of runoff after being forced wide.