Timo Glock shares why FIA swearing row will ‘cost’ Max Verstappen

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Max Verstappen was engulfed in a swearing row with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem over the Singapore Grand Prix which resulted in a sanction from the governing body.

The Dutchman received a penalty from the stewards for swearing in an official FIA press conference when describing the state of his Red Bull in the Azerbaijan GP and will now be “obliged to accomplish some work of public interest.”

It happened just hours after Ben Sulayem said F1 must “differentiate between motorsport and rap music” and requested that drivers be more mindful after revealing the FIA asked TV producers not to broadcast team radio messages that contain swearing.

Drivers reacted with unanimous support for Verstappen in their WhatsApp group, while the row ignited further controversy within the F1 paddock when the Dutchman refused to answer any questions in the official press conference in protest and instead held his own session for the media.

Former F1 driver Timo Glock has revealed why he thinks the row will ‘cost’ Verstappen in the long term when speaking to Motorsport-Total.

Why FIA swearing row will ‘cost’ Max Verstappen in the long term

Martin Brundle has already said Verstappen is ‘wasting his energy’ on fighting the FIA, especially considering he is now in a title battle with Lando Norris in the final six races of the season.

Glock believes Verstappen is going to draw more unwanted attention to the subject at a critical moment during the championship.

“I believe that you have enough pressure when you fight for the World Championship,” said Glock.

“Now to open up a scene next to it, which always costs energy, you have to deal with it again and again, you always get asked these questions.”

Guenther Steiner explains why he agrees with Max Verstappen

Former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner, who was known for his colourful language in the F1 paddock, believes Verstappen is right to fight his corner.

Steiner came out in support of the Dutchman and explained why the FIA should allow him to say what he wants in press conferences due to freedom of speech.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Verstappen is the first driver to receive a penalty under the rules after teams were warned about their use of language following the Las Vegas GP in 2023, when both Toto Wolff and Frederic Vasseur landed themselves in hot water for comments directed at journalists.

Ralf Schumacher also claimed that the row between the FIA and Verstappen is likely to only end one way for the Dutchman, and advised him to focus more on defending his Drivers’ title.