The FIA have been given advice on how to end their feud with Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen’s ongoing ‘swear row’ with the FIA has been described as a “storm in a teacup” with both parties given advice on how to put their latest bickering behind them.
The Red Bull driver was ordered to serve a community service punishment for swearing at a press conference before the Singapore Grand Prix, shortly after the governing body’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called for a clampdown on foul-mouthed language over team radios.
Verstappen was far from happy at the FIA’s response, going on to hold his own press conferences outside of the media suite in Singapore, garnering support from the likes of Lewis Hamilton who told him to snub the community service.
While Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok believes the whole situation has been overblown and the FIA should forget about policing language from drivers. He held a Reddit ‘ask me anything’ and fielded questions from fans, where he was queried about the saga involving Verstappen and the FIA.
Chandhok wrote: “This is a bit of a storm in a teacup to be honest. Yes, I get it. The drivers are ambassadors of the sport and you don’t want them swearing, and putting off young kids particularly.
“But equally they’re athletes. There’s adrenaline pumping and penalising them for speaking out when they’re emotional just feels a little bit harsh.
“I think we want to see characters. We don’t want to see robots. We want to see them wear their heart on their sleeves. And also we have to recognise that for a lot of them, English is their second language.
“Let’s say we get an Indian driver or a driver from Japan or China. Are we going to have translators for every language sitting there monitoring every word? It sounds like a fight that I’m not sure is worth fighting.”
Verstappen was punished for describing his RB20 as “f***ed” and later explained the punishment as “ridiculous” before staging his own protest of short answers to the media, before then speaking at length outside of the FIA’s press room.
It remains to be seen whether that reaction will continue at the United States GP, but the Dutchman will be more concerned about Red Bull’s on-track underperformance rather than the surrounding speculation.
Verstappen could be handed a further punishment soon, however, in his battle for the title with Lando Norris. He is reportedly at risk of needing to use another power unit before the end of the season, which would be his sixth of the campaign.
Using so many carries a grid penalty and he was slapped with a 10-place relegation at the Belgian Grand Prix for his fifth, potentially handing the onus to McLaren and Norris should another be required.
