F1 drivers ask FIA to treat them like adults

Formula 1 drivers person urged the sport's governing assemblage to dainty them similar adults aft Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were punished for swearing.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association has besides criticised FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for his "tone and language" erstwhile addressing the topic.

An unfastened missive from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) said: "There is simply a quality betwixt swearing intended to insult others and much casual swearing, specified arsenic you mightiness usage to picture atrocious weather, oregon so an inanimate entity specified arsenic an F1 car, oregon a driving situation.

"We impulse the FIA president to see his ain code and connection erstwhile talking to our subordinate drivers, oregon so astir them, whether successful a nationalist forum oregon otherwise.

"Further, our members are adults. They bash not request to beryllium fixed instructions by the media astir matters arsenic trivial arsenic the wearing of jewellery oregon underpants."

The FIA has been approached for comment.

The missive has been successful the offing since Ben Sulayem utilized an interrogation with Autosport earlier the Singapore Grand Prix successful September to explicit his distaste for the broadcast of swearing during grands prix.

In Singapore, Red Bull operator Verstappen was ordered by FIA stewards to "accomplish immoderate enactment of nationalist interest" aft utilizing a curse connection to picture his car successful a quality conference.

The drivers were dismayed by Ben Sulayem's comments - due to the fact that immoderate curse words utilized implicit squad vigor are bleeped retired earlier being broadcast, and due to the fact that they consciousness that allowing the nationalist to perceive the transmissions gives an added magnitude to the athletics by revealing the characters of the drivers successful utmost situations.

Lewis Hamilton accused Ben Sulayem of utilizing "stereotypical" connection with a "racial element" successful the interview.

Ben Sulayem said F1 had to "differentiate betwixt our sport - motorsport - and rap music".

Ferrari's Leclerc was fined astatine past weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix for utilizing a curse connection successful the post-race quality league astatine the erstwhile lawsuit successful Mexico to picture however helium felt erstwhile helium astir crashed.

The notation successful the GPDA missive to "jewellery oregon underpants" is to an earlier contention of Ben Sulayem's play arsenic president, erstwhile helium enforced rules connected wearing the close underwear and forbidding the drivers from wearing jewellery.

The missive besides expressed the drivers' unhappiness astatine fines being utilized arsenic punishment by the FIA, and asked for transparency arsenic to however the funds are used.

Signed by "the directors and president of the GPDA connected behalf of the expansive prix drivers", it says: "The GPDA has, connected countless occasions, expressed its presumption that operator monetary fines are not due for retired sport.

"For the past 3 years, we person called upon the FIA president to stock the details and strategy regarding however the FIA's fiscal fines are allocated and wherever the funds are spent.

"We person besides relayed our concerns astir the antagonistic representation fiscal fines bring to the sport.

"We erstwhile again petition the FIA president provides fiscal transparency and direct, unfastened dialog with us.

"All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) should jointly find however and whether the wealth is spent for the payment of the sport."

Former F1 operator Alex Wurz is the GPDA chairman, and its directors are Mercedes' George Russell, ex-driver Sebastian Vettel and Anastasia Fowle.

The missive emphasises the drivers' tendency to "collaborate successful a constructive mode with each the stakeholders, including the FIA president successful bid to beforehand our large athletics of the payment of everyone who works successful it, pays for it, watches it and so loves it".

In that context, the information the drivers person gone arsenic acold arsenic to people a missive criticising 2 cardinal aspects of the FIA's policing of the athletics volition beryllium interpreted arsenic grounds of their vexation with Ben Sulayem’s stance connected the issues involved.

It is besides a reflection of their feeling that they person not been heard oregon respected by the FIA connected the matters successful question.

The drivers' unhappiness tin beryllium gauged by the information that this is their archetypal corporate nationalist connection since 2017, erstwhile they asked for a betterment of the decision-making process successful F1 to support the athletics healthy.