adio messages broadcast live during the opening free practice session contained words that needed to be beeped out.
These are messages that F1 has long used to shape the way its drivers feel behind the wheel during practice sessions, in order to promote bonding.
F1 is a high-stress environment where drivers face high pressure, which they must ignore to stay focused. With their faces hidden behind their helmets, it is impossible to read their emotions, making the radio messages a vital tool for the home audience.
It’s unfair to ask drivers, who are processing huge amounts of data while driving, to be careful about the words they use while driving.
Filtering out what highlights the driver’s excitement and personality for a family-friendly show is a difficult balance.
But individuals like Verstappen are less concerned with ensuring the product is family-friendly. He, like many others on the track, wants to race and succeed.
Verstappen’s value to F1
As a three-time reigning champion, and seemingly on track to win a fourth – despite McLaren’s Lando Norris doing his best to stop him – Verstappen is of immense value to F1.
He is the face of the sport, appearing on billboards around the world and even on TV promoting the non-alcoholic version of Heineken, one of F1’s most prominent partners.
His failure to win F1, especially for not being able to be himself, would be disastrous for the sport.
While the FIA has little responsibility for protecting the commercial side of the operation, Verstappen’s disqualification due to the strict regulations in place would not impress F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, and could once again cause a rift between him and Ben Sulayem.
Tensions have arisen between the pair in recent years, most notably when Ben Sulaymen questioned F1’s “inflated” valuation following reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was considering a $20 billion bid for the sport, as well as differences of opinion regarding Andretti’s racing bid.
Verstappen is a fantastic asset to F1. He has drawn huge crowds during the sport’s European tour, and as a bonus, he is certainly quick and extremely marketable.
Filtering out what highlights a driver’s excitement levels and personality to cater for a family-friendly show is a tricky balance.
No easy solution for the FIA
Verstappen’s response has put the FIA in a difficult position, with several drivers voicing their support for him and opposing the penalty.
It seems Verstappen has been given the power to set a precedent and lead by example.
But by doing so with one of the less resilient drivers, it has drawn unwanted attention to the issue as Verstappen’s decision to give a tepid response in the post-qualifying and post-race press conferences, followed by speaking to the media outside the conference room, has brought the story into sharper focus.
If the FIA overturns the penalty, it will be seen as caving in to Verstappen’s criticism and make the governing body look weak and incompetent.
If the penalty is upheld, the situation will likely continue to be seen as unfair by Verstappen, potentially pushing him closer to the exit door.
A simpler solution would be to issue a formal warning to Verstappen and extend it to all drivers/team representatives that foul language will not be tolerated in future press conferences.
It would have been better to start a dialogue between the governing body and the drivers sooner rather than later, rather than allowing the situation to deteriorate to the point it has now become.
It may seem strange to talk about Verstappen retiring from F1 when he is only 26 and competing at such a high level.
But his initial threat to quit the sport came long before this swearing mess.
For Verstappen, a driver in every sense of the word, this was a meltdown that could have taken him away from F1 forever – and it did.
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