Max Verstappen in the garage during previews ahead of the 2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
In the wake of Max Verstappen’s foul language on the team radio at the 2024 F1 Hungarian GP, recent reports claim that F1 team bosses were asked to inform their drivers to be more careful about their language. The sport’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, himself spoke about the situation in a recent commission meeting on Tuesday.
During the race at Budapest, Max Verstappen expressed his frustration against Red Bull for not giving him a decent strategy to finish in podium places. He fought third-placed Lewis Hamilton but was unable to get past the seven-time world champion. He spewed strong comments against the team, saying:
“No mate, don’t give me that s*** now. You guys gave me this s*** strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left.”
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According to The Times, an F1 commission meeting took place in London on Tuesday (July 23), where the issue of swearing on the radio was brought up. The sport’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, told all the teams to be more mindful of the communication on the radio since some of these back-and-forths can be broadcast to a wide variety of fans from around the globe.
Domenicali asked the team bosses to remind their drivers to be more careful while communicating during race sessions.
As of now, there is no major fine or penalty on drivers for using foul language, except when it is a racial slur. RB driver Yuki Tsunoda was recently fined €40,000 at the Austrian GP for using the racist word ‘re****’.
Max Verstappen not willing to change as he suggests fans to lower the volume during his heated radio messages
While F1 CEO urges teams to remind drivers to be more mindful of their language on the radio, Max Verstappen opined differently.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Belgian GP, he was once again asked about the expletive-filled radio messages during the Hungarian GP. To this, he replied that if fans do not want to listen to his heated radio messages, they can simply turn the volume down.
Max Verstappen then explained that he is driven for success and opined that he should be able to express his emotions freely. He pointed towards his recent success, proving that the uncensored relationship between him and Red Bull has worked brilliantly in the past.
“[If] people don’t like my language, then don’t listen in, turn the volume down. I’m very driven [for] success, I think I’ve proven that already, I always want to optimise stuff, now people can argue that he might not be so vocal on the radio but that’s their opinion,” Verstappen said. (via RacingNews365)
“My opinion is that it needs to be said at the time because we are very open-minded and we are very critical to each other as a team. That has been working for us very well so I don’t expect that to change. It is important to be critical because in this world that we are living in at the moment, I feel that a lot of people can’t take criticism anymore like it used to be. I don’t want to end up like that,” he added.
After the Hungarian GP, Max Verstappen continues to lead in the drivers’ championship table with 265 points.
