Horner And Wolff React To Verstappen's FIA Press Conference Protest
F1Tuesday, 24 September 2024 at 10:53
Max Verstappen's boss and Red Bull Racing team principal, Christian Horner, shared his thoughts on the controversial swearing penalty and the Dutchman's protest.
The FIA (F1's regulatory body) has lately been trying to reduce the amount of swearing on live television. One way of doing this is decreasing the number of inappropriate radio messages during races, which wouldn't really influence drivers.
However, it seems the FIA also wants to change the way drivers express themselves. The organization punished Max Verstappen for using the F-word while describing problems with his car during Thursday's press conference.
The Red Bull Racing F1 driver could maybe get over it if it was a financial penalty. However, FIA wants Max Verstappen to "accomplish some work of public interest."
The Dutchman decided to fight back and boycott the official FIA press conferences. He gave super brief, unmeaningful answers to all the questions and then held his own mini-press conferences afterward.
What does his team principal, Christian Horner, think about it? As reported by GpBlog, he told the media at Marina Bay Street Circuit after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix:
"I think that Max has made his feelings clear on it. Of course, all these drivers are role models. But, language is used in everyday life, it perhaps could have been dealt with slightly differently, which would have avoided any awkwardness."
"I'm not sure how much he's talking in the FIA press conference now, but I assume it's relatively little."
Max Verstappen at the post-qualifying FIA press conference in Singapore
Asked if Red Bull has asked Verstappen to stop swearing, Horner clarified the F1 team hasn't and most probably won't (in the future), as he explained:
"No, no. Look, I suppose the difference was between a press conference and in the car. But for a driver whose native language is not English…"
"I mean, we've seen Royal Family members telling photographers to take a fucking photo. So reactions need to be relative."
Toto Wolff's Reaction To Verstappen's Penalty For Swearing
The team principal of Mercedes, Toto Wolff, was also asked to comment on the tense situation between FIA and Max Verstappen. While he seems to agree there is some benefit to reducing the amount of swearing, Wolff doesn't agree with the F-word ban:
"I think it's always the context in the way you say it, but we want to have emotions, we want to have raw moments, we understand that the drivers are in a state of extremes. If we can dim it down a little bit, I think that's good for all of us, but I wouldn't necessarily ban the F word."
The 52-year-old then suggested that not even many people would listen to the press conferences. In truth, Formula 1 doesn't air them live on its official channel, F1TV, and only makes a recording available to viewers a few hours later while still not pushing it on the main feed.
"I don't think anybody listens to the FIA president at a press conference anyway. I mean, you listen, but it's not written about, rarely."
"It's not a big audience. We are the group. We are all part of that traveling circus. We know each other. And I don't think that using the F-word in a press conference is the worst thing..."
"If we need to adapt, all of us adapt our language, including team principals, then we would look at it more, more civilized, I guess."
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