Better watch out Max! FIA hands out first penalty for foul language
F1 News
- Kimberley Hoefnagel
Last weekend the FIA handed out a penalty for inappropriate language for the first time since its stricter rules of conduct were introduced. Adrien Fourmaux, a driver in the World Rally Championship, was fined heavily on Sunday for using the word 'fuck'. The governing body previously announced it would take stricter action, and has now put a driver's money where its mouth is.
Fourmaux competed in the Swedish Rally last weekend, after which he made a frustrated appearance in front of the media. "We fucked up," he told RallyTV. The driver was fined 10,000 euros for this statement, with a conditional fine of another 20,000 euros.
The race organisers wrote the following in the FIA document: "Following the completion of the Power Stage of Rally Sweden 2025, the driver conducted a post-race interview and concluded the interview with the words: 'We f***ed up yesterday. The Rally TV commentator proceeded to respond to the driver's statement with 'Apologies for the language there'."
"The driver explained that he was referring to the mistakes he had made on the previous day, and that he used the words in a colloquial and descriptive way, in the sense that he had made a mistake. He apologised as he did not want to offend or insult anyone anyone by using those words. The stewards reminded the driver and the team representative of the stance of the FIA regarding not only inappropriate language, but also verbal/physical abuse, and making/displaying political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes."
It then goes on to describe that the FIA and the stewards understand that the statements have been normalised. But that it is important to stress that that does not mean that such language is seen as swearing worldwide, and therefore inappropriate for public settings. "The said penalty, and the suspended penalty, is therefore proportionate," the FIA said.
New FIA rules of conduct
The FIA published an updated version of its sporting rules of conduct in January, causing raised eyebrows. The document states that the race organisers may hand out hefty penalties for inappropriate language and behaviour. The FIA defines this to include the use of swear words, making political, religious or personal statements as well as criticising the FIA.
For a first offence, a driver is fined, for a second offence a higher fine and a conditional suspension of one month, and for a third offence the driver risks an even higher fine and a one-month suspension. In addition, points may also be taken away in the championship. The announcement caused a lot of criticism from drivers and fans, but is now being enforced regardless.
This is bad news for Max Verstappen and his fellow drivers in Formula 1. Such language is regularly heard in the racing series, and has also resulted in penalties for Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. The FIA is setting a clear precedent with the punishment in the WRC, which makes it likely that Formula 1 race management will enforce the guidelines just as strictly.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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