FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem has declared war on insults on the radio in his latest blow to the drivers on the grid, after previously revealing they could be deducted points for bad language and one Red Bull mechanic isn’t impressed as hits out at the swearing ban.
The development comes after the body already issued a series of new guidelines on punishment that may result in drivers being fined or deducted points for swearing or other violations of the Sporting Code.
Fines begin from 10,000 euros but can quickly rise to 40,000, then 80,000 and finally a one-month suspension and loss of championship points for breaching the FIA’s misconduct rules, which includes “moral damage” to the body.
Now the latest move could be to ban drivers from cussing over the airwaves, despite the fact that the broadcasters control exactly which radios are transmitted to the audiences and can simply ignore ones deemed inappropriate.
“Will we then switch off live communication by radio? Perhaps,” Ben Sulayem said to media in Madrid, Spain. “Are we delaying it? Maybe. We are still the owners of the championship.”
Naturally, the latest controversial call from the Emirati isn’t settling too well with fans and now within the paddock either, as Red Bull’s Calum Nicholas hits out at the FIA as he sends a message of where the priorities lay.
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“In the pits, we don’t think he really wants to offend us,” Nicholas told TalkSPORT. “When we hear drivers using strong language on the radio, we have to remember that they are under enormous pressure. When we hear them in the pits, we never think, ‘He’s being mean to us.’
“People say that drivers should be role models for children, but as a parent, I feel that responsibility is mine.”
Ben Sulayem’s decision slammed by other FIA figures
The new misconduct guidelines will immediately come into effect from the upcoming 2025 Formula 1 season, which kicks off on Friday, March 14 in Australia at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.
Yet the action seems to have even caught other FIA personnel off guard, let alone the racers who previously warned the Ben Sulayem to watch his tone when talking about them through the Grand Prix Drivers Association.
The decision to amend the International Sporting Code is said to have come about through an e-Vote on the matter instead of a Formula 1 Commission meeting, and was said to have been a snap poll that other members were not told about ahead of time.
