F1 Drivers Address Swearing, Jewelry, Underpants in Warning Shot to FIA Leadership

By Phillip Horton

F1 Drivers Address Swearing, Jewelry, Underpants in Warning Shot to FIA Leadership

Formula 1 drivers have issued a collective statement calling for greater respect and transparency from the FIA President in the wake of several contentious issues in the championship.

An open letter was published on Thursday by the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, to which all 20 racers belong, and which is chaired by ex-F1 racer Alex Wurz.

Mercedes driver George Russell, four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, and legal adviser Anastasia Fowle are all directors of the GPDA.

Formula 1 drivers have been frustrated by a sequence of controversies, most recently the desire of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to clamp down on swearing, following an interview he gave to Autosport prior to September's Singapore Grand Prix.

Swearing is bleeped in team radios broadcast by Formula 1, but Ben Sulayem said he had requested that such messages are played less, while also outlining that drivers too had a responsibility over their language.

World Champion Max Verstappen was given a community service order in Singapore after he used a profanity in the official FIA Press Conference to describe the handling of his car. He protested by keeping his words to a minimum in official press conferences for the remainder of the weekend before speaking out to the media in separate gatherings.

Charles Leclerc was then issued a fine last weekend in Brazil after he swore in the post-race Press Conference at the preceding event in Mexico City, doing so in a response to a question about his emotions when he nearly crashed.

A lengthy meeting was held by the GPDA in Mexico to discuss matters and on Thursday an open letter was published via its social media channels, in which the drivers also called on Ben Sulayem to "consider his own tone and language" when discussing them.

F1 drivers' open letter to FIA leadership:

"As is the case with every sport, competitors must abide by the referee's decision, whether they like it or not, indeed whether they agree with it or not. That is how sport works. The Drivers (our members) are no different, and fully understand that.

"Our members are professional drivers, racing in Formula 1, the pinnacle of international motorsport. They are gladiators and every racing weekend they put on a great show for the fans.

"With regards to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as a Formula 1 car, or a driving situation.

"We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewelry and underpants."

That is a reference to Ben Sulayem strictly enforcing regulations in 2022 regarding using the correct underwear and not being allowed to wear jewelery in the car.

Ben Sulayem has striven to make the FIA more prominent in Formula 1 since his election in late 2021, but this has occasionally been heavy-handed and led to strained relationships, most notably when he was rebuked by Liberty Media in 2023 over comments made about the sport's value.

The drivers went on to express unhappiness at receiving financial penalties for some offences, and have called for transparency on how such funds are used by the FIA.

They claim that since 2022 they have requested further information but that this has not been forthcoming.

"The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that Driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our Sport," the letter continues. "For the past three years, we have called upon the FIA President to share the details and strategy regarding how the FIA's financial fines are allocated and where the funds are spent.

We have also relayed our concerns about the negative image financial fines bring to the Sport. We once again request that the FIA President provides financial transparency and direct, open dialogue with us. All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the Teams and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where the money is spent for the benefit of our Sport.

"The GPDA wishes to collaborate in a constructive way with all the stakeholders, including the FIA President, in order to promote our great Sport for the benefit of everyone who works in it, pays for it, watches it, and indeed loves it. We are playing our part."

The GPDA meets regularly -- and there is also a drivers' briefing at every Grand Prix at which matters are discussed -- but the publication of a letter is a rare show of unilateral solidarity by drivers, demonstrating their frustration at a host of issues, and the stance and actions of the FIA President.

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