Formula 1 drivers ask FIA to treat them like adults after swearing punishments
The Gigantic Prix Drivers’ Association has additionally criticised FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for his “tone and language” when addressing the field.
An birth letter from the Gigantic Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) mentioned: “There’s a distinction between swearing supposed to insult others and extra informal swearing, equivalent to you would possibly maybe maybe maybe possibly utilize to report immoral weather, or certainly an inanimate object equivalent to an F1 automobile, or a utilizing field.
“We escape the FIA president to set in thoughts his maintain tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or certainly about them, whether or no longer in a public forum or in every other case.
“Extra, our people are adults. They influence no longer will need to aloof be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial because the sporting of bijou or underpants.”
The FIA has been approached for comment.
The letter has been in the offing since Ben Sulayem susceptible an interview with Autosport earlier than the Singapore Gigantic Prix in September to explicit his distaste for the broadcast of swearing all the procedure via grands prix.
In Singapore, Red Bull driver Verstappen used to be ordered by FIA stewards to “enact some work of public passion” after the usage of a suppose observe to report his automobile in a news convention.
The drivers had been dismayed by Ben Sulayem’s comments – because any suppose phrases susceptible over crew radio are bleeped out earlier than being broadcast, and because they feel that allowing the public to hear the transmissions provides an added dimension to the sport by revealing the characters of the drivers in gross scenarios.
Lewis Hamilton accused Ben Sulayem of the usage of “stereotypical” language with a “racial component” in the interview.
Ben Sulayem mentioned F1 needed to “differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music”.
Ferrari’s Leclerc used to be fined in the discontinuance weekend’s Sao Paulo Gigantic Prix for the usage of a suppose observe in the post-escape news convention on the previous occasion in Mexico to report how he felt when he virtually crashed.
The reference in the GPDA letter to “jewellery or underpants” is to an earlier controversy of Ben Sulayem’s duration as president, when he enforced principles on sporting the lovely undies and forbidding the drivers from sporting jewellery.
The letter additionally expressed the drivers’ sadness at fines being susceptible as punishment by the FIA, and requested for transparency as to how the funds are susceptible.
Signed by “the administrators and chairman of the GPDA on behalf of the massive prix drivers”, it says: “The GPDA has, on endless occasions, expressed its peek that driver monetary fines are no longer appropriate for out sport.
“For the previous three years, we have known as upon the FIA president to portion the info and plan relating to how the FIA’s financial fines are allocated and the achieve the funds are spent.
“We have additionally relayed our concerns relating to the unfavorable image financial fines carry to the sport.
“We all over yet again put a query to the FIA president provides financial transparency and yell, birth dialogue with us.
“All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) will need to aloof collectively resolve how and whether or no longer the money is spent for the coolest thing relating to the sport.”
Outdated F1 driver Alex Wurz is the GPDA chairman, and its administrators are Mercedes’ George Russell, ex-driver Sebastian Vettel and Anastasia Fowle.
The letter emphasises the drivers’ desire to “collaborate in a optimistic technique with all the stakeholders, including the FIA president in narrate to promote our big sport of the coolest thing about each person who works in it, can pay for it, watches it and certainly loves it”.
In that context, the truth the drivers have gone to this point as to post a letter criticising two key facets of the FIA’s policing of the sport will possible be interpreted as evidence of their frustration with Ben Sulayem’s stance on the factors involved.
It’s miles additionally a mirrored image of their feeling that they’ve no longer been heard or respected by the FIA on the matters in query.
The drivers’ sadness can even be gauged by the reality that right here is their first collective public assertion since 2017, after they requested for a reform of the decision-making job in F1 to retain the sport healthy.