Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, known for his hilarious moments on Netflix‘s Drive to Survive series that earned him a huge fan following in America, has called out the sport’s governing body, the FIA, for the way it handled Max Verstappen’s swearing episode.
The Red Bull driver dropped an f-bomb directed at his F1 car in a press conference during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, which is prohibited by the governing body. As a result, Verstappen was handed a one-day public service penalty.
The punishment followed a request from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who had urged drivers to avoid using profanity over the radio. However, Verstappen didn’t take the penalty lightly. He chose to give brief answers to the press during the weekend as a sign of protest, eventually saying that such incidents, which prevent him from being himself could lead to his potential exit from Formula 1.
Steiner, who departed Haas before the start of the 2024 season, is promoting his new book ‘Unfiltered’, which describes his journey with the American outfit over the last decade. The 59-year-old former team boss offered his view of the controversy, stating that swearing on camera was not the right thing to do, but also emphasized that the FIA should allow people to have their opinions and focus on issues relevant to the sport. He told Inews.co.uk:
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 21: A gaggle of journalists surround Max Verstappen after he gave blunt and short answers to questions in the press conference after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 21, 2024 in Singapore, Singapore. Guenther Steiner called out the FIA for the way it handled Max Verstappen’s swearing controversy.
Kym Illman/Getty Images
“Should you swear at a press conference? No, but he was swearing at the car not people. I would have got the guys together and told them to tone it down a bit, be a bit more amicable. Instead of fining them, creating controversy.
“I don’t know many children who don’t know the F-word. It’s not that important. And then you come out and say the British press is against him. I don’t think that is the case. They just commented on what was done. The press is not there to make you look good. That’s not freedom of speech.
“You have to let people have their opinion. I have known Mohammed a long time from rallying. I don’t know what the end goal is. We are talking about issues that are not relevant to the sport. Talking about piercings and the language is not the important stuff. The FIA is there to govern.”
In another interview with BBC Sport, Steiner advised what the FIA could have done instead of creating a controversy. He added:
“The best way [to handle it] would have been not to make a big story of it. 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.”
He added:
“You have heard me a lot in press conferences and interviews like this, I don’t swear.
“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.'”
