25/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Fearing that the FIA's clamp down will prevent him from 'being himself', Max Verstappen admits that he may consider retiring earlier than planned.
On Thursday it was revealed that FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem - of whom little has been heard since he appeared to make peace with F1 - had spoken to Formula One Management with a view to clamping down on swearing during broadcasting of the sport.
The drivers were unimpressed by the move, even more so when Verstappen was summoned by the stewards after uttering the F-word during the official press conference whilst describing how his car felt in Baku.
Hit with a 'community service' order the Dutchman reacted by effectively refusing to speak during the FIA's official post-qualifying press conference, while Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton agreed with his reaction.
"He deserved it... foul language," joked Norris, before adding: "I think it's pretty unfair. I don't agree with any of it."
"I think it's a bit of a joke, to be honest," added Hamilton. "This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.
"I certainly won't be doing it," he said of the community service order, "and I hope Max doesn't do it."
While Verstappen, became the youngest ever driver to start a grand prix when he lined up on the grid in Melbourne in 2015, over the years he has made no secret of his desire to retire whilst still relatively young, having no desire to race as a veteran like Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton.
However, speaking at race end on Sunday, the Dutchman admitted that the FIA's latest diktat could cause him to bring his retirement forward.
"For sure, these kind of things definitely decide my future as well," he told reporters. "You know when you can't be yourself, or you have to deal with these kind of silly things.
"I think now I'm at the stage of my career that you don't want to be dealing with this all the time," he added. "It's really tiring.
"Of course, it's great to have success and win races, but you know, once you have accomplished all that winning championships and races, and then you want to just have a good time as well.
"Of course, everyone is pushing to the limit," he continued. "Everyone in this paddock, even at the back of the grid. But if you have to deal with all these kind of silly things, for me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that's for sure."
Asked if he has voiced these feeling with the FIA, he replied: "At the end of the day, I don't know how serious they would take that kind of stuff. For me at one point, when it's enough, it's enough, we'll see.
"Like I said, racing will go on, F1 will go on also without me. It's also not a problem for me. It's how it is."
The Dutchman was keen to make clear that his language on Thursday, as an example, was him expressing his frustration, it was not meant as an insult towards anyone.
"For me personally, with these kind of things, I know, of course, you can't insult people. That is quite straightforward. I think no one really wants to do that.
"It's all a bit too soft really and honestly, it's silly. It's super silly what we're dealing with."
Indeed, at a time the sport is using every means at its disposal to promote the drivers' personalities, the three-time world champion fears that he and his colleagues will not be allowed to be themselves.
"For sure. I mean, if you can't really be yourself to the fullest, then it's better not to speak," he said. "That's what no one wants, because then you become a robot and it is not how you should be going about it in the sport. It is going the wrong way to create that authenticity.
"I think you should be able to show emotions in a way. That's what racing is about, or any sport. I mean, anyone walking around on a pitch, if they get tackled or get pushed, or they're not happy with something, or there's a frustrating moment or something that they get asked about. It's quite normal that there can be a sort of reaction.
"I wrote in the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association chat group) the ruling, and everyone was almost laughing," he revealed, "you know, like, 'what the hell is that?'
"So, yes, it is very, very silly."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.