Max Verstappen F1 News: Red Bull star provides BRUTAL assessment on FIA swearing row

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Red Bull star provides BRUTAL assessment on FIA swearing row

Max Verstappen has been embroiled in a swearing row with the FIA

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 10 February 2025 18:58 Updated: 20:43

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A Red Bull Formula 1 star has provided a brutal assessment of Max Verstappen's swearing row with the FIA.

The four-time world champion was forced to serve a community service-style penalty after swearing in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix in September last year, prompting a controversial debate over X-rated language.

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In response, Verstappen refused to give detailed answers in succeeding press conferences and instead held his own impromptu interviews with media outlets.

The row has rumbled on, with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently suggesting that greater discipline was needed from drivers, hinting that they were considering turning off team radios, a staple of modern-day F1 broadcasting coverage.

Max Verstappen was embroiled in a swearing row with the FIA in 2024

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Is swearing banned in F1?

The FIA has come under fire of late for the way in which they have dealt with a number of situations, including Verstappen's swearing infringement, while chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association George Russell has called for greater transparency from the sport's governing body.

Now, one of Verstappen's key allies has spoken out about the row between the Dutchman and the FIA, suggesting parents should be responsible for keeping their children away from bad language, not F1 drivers.

Calum Nicholas has worked as a mechanic at Red Bull since 2015 and has a good relationship with the team's star driver.

"When we hear drivers on the radio, in the midst of a race, in the midst of a battle, their language can be colourful," Nicholas told talkSPORT, pulling from his experience in Verstappen's garage.

"I think the important thing to remember is that they are operating in that window where they’re under a great deal of pressure."

Red Bull F1 mechanic Calum Nicholas has weighed in on Verstappen's FIA swearing debate

Nicholas continued: "We never sit in the garage and hear those comments and think to ourselves, ‘Oh God, I can’t believe he’s being mean to us.’ That’s not really the nature of the people that work in sport.

"It’s something that I tell my daughter quite often. I have a six-year-old daughter, and I say to her, ‘Look, you know, there’s language that’s appropriate in some situations and not in others.’

"And I think a lot of times people say, Oh, well, these stars, they have a responsibility as role models. And I sort of say, well, for me actually, as a parent, I think that responsibility is mine to teach my kids what’s appropriate in some environments and what’s not appropriate in other environments.

"I think that as a parent, you should take that responsibility on yourself rather than expect everybody else to be your role model."