Formula One racers will hold discussions on their response to FIA’s action over Max Verstappen swearing in a press conference. The World champion on Sunday described his punishment for swearing as “silly” and threatened the row could hasten his exit from Formula One.
The Dutchman finished second to Lando Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix but the saga over him being slapped with a community service order continued to dominate fallout in the paddock.
“These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things,” the 26-year-old said.
The Red Bull driver was sanctioned by the FIA after using the F-word in Thursday’s drivers’ press conference which was being broadcast live.
He subsequently staged a one-man protest by giving only short answers or offering “no comment” to reporters in the official FIA post-qualifying press conference on Saturday.
After Sunday’s race, he again limited his responses before conducting a lengthy press conference with some members of the written press inside the Red Bull hospitality unit.
“I am at the stage of my career where you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring,” he told the BBC.
“For me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure.”
Verstappen is chasing a fourth world title this season but he has said in the past that a long career in Formula One is not on his agenda.
He is also keen to explore other forms of motor racing once his current contract with Red Bull ends in 2028.
“F1 will go on without me. It’s not a problem and also not a problem for me. It’s how it is,” he added.
“If you can’t really be yourself to the fullest, then it’s better not to speak. But that’s what no one wants because then you become a robot and that’s not how you should be going about it in the sport.”
Verstappen was supported by Lando Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has voiced his own concerns over Ben Sulayem’s stance.
After joking that Verstappen deserved his punishment for “foul language”, Norris said: “It’s pretty unfair. I don’t agree with any of it.”
Hamilton said: “It’s a bit of a joke, to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.” Hamilton also seemed to suggest Verstappen should avoid the work mandated by the earlier ruling. “I certainly wouldn’t be doing it. And I hope Max doesn’t do it.”
Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, earlier objected to Ben Sulayem’s statement that F1 should not resemble “rap music,” which the FIA president made while explaining his objections to swearing in an interview with the motorsport.com website this week. Hamilton said Ben Sulayem’s language was “stereotypical” and had a “racial element.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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