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FIA shock: FE driver gets away with rant, but Verstappen is punished
- Kimberley Hoefnagel
Last weekend, the FIA may have set a precedent that Max Verstappen and his fellow competitors in Formula 1 could well benefit from. The stewards in Formula E - an FIA sanctioned championship - let Dan Ticktum's vulgar shouting match over the onboard radio go unpunished. That’s a big difference with Verstappen, who was severely punished by the FIA stewards for swearing during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend in 2024. By not intervening now, they have set a precedence, that will make it difficult to punish other drivers for the same offence in the future.
Last weekend, Formula E ran a double header at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. On Friday, during the first race of the weekend, a new feature came into play, when Pit Boost was used for the first time in FE history.
Pit Boost is a new technological development that allows teams to recharge their cars in very little time. Just a 30-second pit stop is enough to provide the cars with as much as 10% extra energy, after which the drivers temporarily have access to extra speed. Of course, a new innovation also comes with its own challenges, as Ticktum has experienced firsthand.
When the Kira driver wanted to enter the pits, he was told by his race engineer that, due to a technological error, he would have to make a stop before he could try and go for the Pit Boost. To this, the Briton responded, "Can we just try and not do that and risk it? Because we're going to lose the whole fucking race because of that." Following a negative response from his engineer, Ticktum made his feelings known. "Oh for fucks sake man, fucking hell. Right, Mode 0 when I stop? Hello? Mode 0 when I stop? Fuck this shit, I box now."
When Ticktum was then told that his car's wing was going to be replaced, he went off on a rant. "Why? Why? No, just get on with it! What the fuck are we doing? Fucking hell, what a shit show. I'm getting off, fucking hell. No, oh! Guys I'm getting out. Fucking hell. Oh my God. Why? Why are we changing the wing? What the fucking hell has just happened? Please bring me in."
New FIA regulations
The FIA has recently taken a clear stance on driver behaviour. An updated version of the sporting code was published in January this year, warning of hefty penalties for breaching the code of conduct. According to that code, swearing is of course out of the question, but so is making political, religious or personal statements as well as criticising the FIA.
Although Ticktum clearly did not comply with the code of conduct, no punishment was imposed afterwards. This while Adrien Fourmaux did get penalised in the World Rally Championship for the relatively milder statement, "We fucked up" earlier in the weekend.
Consequences for Formula 1
From sources in the Formula E paddock, GPblog understands that the new regulations shouldn’t just apply to media sessions, but also to what is said over the on-board radios. Allegedly, this was a specific request from the drivers themselves. Even so, the teams seem to be unsure whether or not that is actually the case.
However, one thing is certain: the fact that Ticktum wasn’t punished in Jeddah, could potentially work out well for other drivers, including those in Formula 1. This is because the FIA have set a clear precedent for the future. And given that the sporting code applies to all FIA championships, it will be rather difficult for the FIA to punish drivers in other racing series for the same offence from here on forward.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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