GPDA president Wurz on Herbert: 'Had incidents with him myself'
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- Nicole Mulder
The FIA are currently, once again, the topic of conversation within the Formula 1 world. Not only because of the departure of Johnny Herbert as a steward, but also because of the new penalties that were introduced by the governing body for alleged misbehaviour, including swearing. Alexander Wurz, president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), has reacted to both issues.
GPDA president Wurz responds to FIA penalties
Asked by Sky Sports News whether the GPDA is considering a response on behalf of drivers to the FIA's new penalty system, Wurz explained that there has not been much time for that yet. "We have communicated, but we have not had enough time yet in this very busy period of time for the drivers, the start of the season, simulator tests, etc., to go together and discuss how we are addressing it," he explained.
The 50-year-old Austrian himself is not a fan of swearing, especially by people who are role models. However, he does think it is important that everyone can remain who they are on the grid. "At the end of the day, I am a dad to young kids. It's best to not swear. But it is not about not swearing. We all know that we are role models. Every driver wants to be a good role model. I don't know anyone in those elite 20 athletes who is a real rebel and wants to go out there and swear and shout," he explains.
"It's really not the case. We have to just hope that common sense prevails with all of us, really all of us, that when a word is slipping [out], and perhaps the controller of the feeds are not finding the beep button to support us as an industry, because we have to address this together. At the same time, we have to remain authentic, but we can be authentic without swearing. So it is a big topic, and it's maybe hotter in the media and on the news than in our rooms. But we had no time to form our opinion and potential cause of action or no action," Wurz concluded on the topic.
Wurz: 'I had my incidents with Herbert like that'
The FIA also announced on Wednesday that Herbert will be stepping down from his role as steward "by mutual agreement". This is because, according to the governing body, his duties as an official are incompatible with his presence in the media, in which he often expresses his opinion - for which he gets paid - on what happens in the competition he is judging situations as a steward.
"To be honest, I only read about it," said Wurz, who competed against Herbert during the late 1990s as an F1 driver. "I know Johnny well. I did have my incidents with him on track. Of course, he is a very colourful character. He is funny, he is good, highly respected. I don't know the exact details, but if there is a clash, perhaps they agreed together, perhaps not, I don't know the details."
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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