Esteban Ocon has revealed that Formula 1 drivers held what he described as a “fair discussion” with the FIA, to bring clarity to its rules on swearing a Grand Prix weekends.
The contentious issue around drivers using swear words at races began last year, when Max Verstappen was handed a community service order for swearing at the Singapore Grand Prix.
A heated exchange between drivers – often through the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association [GPDA] – and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem ensued via the media, which has, to some degree, continued up until now.
The sport’s governing body would have also felt further pressure from other circles of motorsport, with drivers in the World Rally Championship forming its own union, the World Rally Drivers’ Alliance [WoRDA], following a similar incident.
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix last weekend, the drivers’ briefing on the Friday saw an explanation of the guidelines and how they would be interpreted, given by Garry Connelly, acting as a chairman for the stewards.
Autosport has reported that Connelly divided guidelines into two specific areas – in-car communication and speaking to the media.
The FIA is said to be content with allowing drivers to swear over the radio, provided it is not directly aimed at fellow competitors and race officials.
However, any instance of drivers swearing during press conferences or media interviews will be deemed a breach of the regulations and will be reported to the stewards.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Haas driver Ocon appeared to be content with the outcome of the meeting.
“The FIA, the stewards, they came and basically specified on what was allowed, what was not allowed, and I think, honestly, it was a quite fair discussion that we had, very open,” he said.
“The FIA are not there to punish us for no reason, so if in the heat of the moment some bad words come between engineering and ourselves, that would be OK, basically.
“That’s what they said. But obviously if you insult someone, that’s a different case, but that’s normal. We have to behave, we are on air all the time, [it’s] live TV.
“It’s important for us to be [role] models for the younger generation. But from what we had in Melbourne, the discussion, I think we were all quite scared before – I think now it’s quite clear and I think it’s quite fair, the discussion we had.
“I don’t know what the World Rally [Championship] guys had. Probably very different answers to their questions, and that’s probably why they’re not happy.
“But on our side, in Formula 1, I think it’s much more clear now and quite fair.”
Williams driver Carlos Sainz, recently appointed a director of the GPDA, echoed Ocon’s comments, saying the guidelines were now “very clear,” adding: “I think Garry was incredibly helpful in trying to explain to us the way the FIA was going to approach the situation and I really appreciate common sense and, this time, I must say common sense prevailed.
“And for me, it was very clear, very understandable, and we can hopefully move on from that.”
Has F1 drivers meeting brought the ‘positive changes’ requested by WRC pack to the FIA?
After Verstappen’s penalty in Singapore, Charles Leclerc was the next to be handed a punishment, fined $10,000 [$5,000 suspended] for swearing at a press conference at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Ben Sulayem then described the drivers of behaving like “rappers,” which prompted a public rebuke by the GPDA, which issued a statement saying Ben Sulayem should “consider his own tone and language.”
The sport’s governing body’s stricter stance on swearing spilled over into other competitions, with World Rally Championship drivers forming its own union – World Rally Drivers’ Association [WoRDA] – after Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was given a €10,000 fine – and a further €20,000 suspended – for swearing at the Rally Sweden in January.
WoRDA’s response has been to elect to not answer questions in media events, or answer in their own language, urging for “positive changes” in the rules.
With F1 drivers now appearing to be, for the time being at least, content with the rulings, eyes will shift to the Safari Rally Kenya this weekend, to see if the drivers involved will continue with its stance.
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