Formula 1 Drivers Might Face Fewer Penalties for Cursing

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or the FIA, might be considering fewer penalties for Formula 1 drivers who curse in press conferences and at other F1 functions.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the organization’s president announced the potential change in an Instagram post on Monday, saying that “improvements” might be made to the section of the FIA’s International Sporting Code that governs “misconduct,” including swearing. The issue has been controversial since reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen was penalized last year for cursing at a press conference after the Singapore race.

“Following constructive feedback from drivers across our seven FIA world championships, I am considering making improvements to Appendix B,” Ben Sulayem said. “As a former rally driver, I understand the demands they face better than most.”

The FIA president also said that the organization’s rules are always up for debate.

“Humans make the rules and humans can improve the rules,” Ben Sulayem said. “This principle of continuous improvement is something I have always believed in and is at the heart of all we do at the FIA.”

As recently as a week and a half ago in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen seemed to hint at his lingering unhappiness with the current rules, declining to say much at a press conference after the race.

“I prefer not to talk a lot because sometimes your words can be twisted or people interpret it in a different way,” Verstappen said after the race. “It’s honestly better not to say too much.”

Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and other F1 drivers have argued that swearing is simply a part of motorsport, given the intense pressure each driver is under to perform, in addition to the normal demands of a sport that can be incredibly dangerous because of a single bad decision.

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The FIA, meanwhile, is trying to fashion a product for broadcast across the world, though drivers and certainly many fans would also argue that cursing allows drivers’ personalities to come through more clearly, making it more compelling entertainment. Cursing, or at least the perception that there is less of a filter, is also central to the appeal of Drive to Survive, the Netflix reality show that, in the U.S., has led to a surge in popularity for Formula 1.

“Last year, for two points, I would’ve hugged the whole paddock,” former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said on the series once, using a different word than “hugged.”