Lewis Hamilton, George Russell on FIA swearing U-turn: It’s a ‘mess’
IMOLA — Lewis Hamilton has described the FIA’s recent U-turn on swearing in F1 as “a bit of a mess”, while his former teammate George Russell labelled the governing body’s unwillingness to engage with drivers on the subject as “a bit suspect.”
Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the FIA revised its controversial stance on swearing by slashing potential fines under its rules on driver misconduct.
Competitors in Formula 1 and rallying have been at loggerheads with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem over his crackdown on bad language in the past year.
Rally drivers made a breakthrough in April when they reached a compromise to divide events into “controlled zones” and “uncontrolled zones,” with the change now being implemented across all events sanctioned by the FIA.
The FIA said the base maximum penalty would be reduced from €10,000 ($11,214) to €5,000 while stewards will have the option to fully suspend a penalty if it is the first offence by a driver or a team.
When Hamilton was asked for his opinion on the governing body backing down on the issue, he said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There’s lots of changes that are needed, for sure.
“I don’t know where it’s stemming from. I mean, it is ridiculous. But nothing I say is going to make any difference to it.”
Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, questioned the FIA’s motivation in introducing such strict penalties in the first place.
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“I feel the changes should have never happened in the first place,” he said. “So we’re talking about a situation where things have been reverted because it was a little bit ludicrous in the first place.
“Of course we’re happy to see things go back to how they should be, but it should never have been there in the first place.
“So it feels a bit wrong to be thanking the changes when we shouldn’t have been in that place to begin with. So, yeah, it’s a bit of a strange predicament.
“And we’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from senior level FIA. So, yeah, it’s all a bit suspect,” he added.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen, who was ordered to complete community service last year for swearing in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix, added: “It’s a positive start I would say.
“I’m pleased that they realised that what they had before was probably a bit too aggressive.”
In a statement in April, the FIA president said there had been “constructive feedback” on the issue of swearing, but Russell claims F1 drivers still haven’t meet with Ben Sulayem to discuss the matter. The Mercedes driver indicated it had been tough to arrange a meeting with Ben Sulayem.
“It seems more challenging than it should be, really,” Russell said. “But, you know, we’ve all put our views forward.
“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten to a point of no return, but you at least want to see willingness from the other party.
“And I think we feel we’ve put our views forward and we want to have conversations and dialogue. And there’s only so much you can ask.
“So, yeah, it’s got to be mutual and it’s got to come from both directions.”
Source: espn.com