Former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has said the FIA made a “big story” out of the incident in which it penalised Max Verstappen for swearing.
Verstappen was given a one-day community service penalty by the sport’s governing body for swearing during a press-conference, in which he referred to his Red Bull car as “f•••ed”.
The FIA responded by handing the reigning Formula 1 champion a punishment of completing “work of public interest,” with the Dutchman in turn hosting an impromptu press conference in the team’s hospitality suite at the Marina Bay Circuit.
But Steiner, himself known for his use of colourful language in his time in the paddock, has told the BBC that the FIA has made too much of the incident.
“The best way [to handle it] would have been not to make a big story of it,” he said. “Sit down with the drivers, they have a meeting every weekend, and say: ‘Hey, guys, can you tone it down a little bit? We are the FIA, we don’t really like this.’
“But don’t say: ‘If you do, you get a fine, a penalty, whatever.’ Because you know these guys, they’ve got an ego as well. And they say: ‘I don’t want to do that.’ And then what do you create? All this controversy – for nothing.”
Guenther Steiner advises caution to Max Verstappen and fellow drivers
Steiner did acknowledge that drivers should be careful with their language, saying that he did not swear in any official media forums, only amid a race and other informal situations.
“You have heard me a lot in press conferences and interviews like this, I don’t swear,” he said. “I swear when I am in the battle. And that’s why I made these comments.
“When you are in the heat, and adrenaline is going and emotions are going, you do it. When we say, ‘Oh, the children, we have to look after our children.’ But they hear it everywhere. Swearing has changed from what it was 20 years ago to now.
“When you swear at somebody, that’s a different story. But swearing at somebody in the race I understand because you’re doing 350km/h and somebody cuts you off, you’re not saying: ‘Hello, buddy, you shouldn’t be doing this.'”
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