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George Russell has dismissed the FIA’s decision to back down from its hard line on driver swearing as ridiculous and suggested it was a ploy by the governing body’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to garner support before he stands for re-election this December, while Lewis Hamilton described the situation at the FIA as “a mess”.
On Wednesday, the FIA announced it was to relax the strict stance against drivers using bad language which it has pursued relentlessly, apparently at Ben Sulayem’s request, for the past eight months. The president stated before the Singapore GP last year he did not want drivers to swear and the FIA imposed a new sliding scale of fines which could have also led to a ban for infringements at the start of this season. However, the organisation backtracked before this weekend’s Imola Grand Prix. The maximum fine has now been drastically reduced and the prospect of a ban removed.
Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, felt the entire episode had been all but farcical and was dismissive of the FIA’s latest efforts.
“I didn’t really have any reaction to [the decision] because it was so ridiculous in the first place,” he said. “We’re not going to be saying thank you for something that was so crazy in the first place. It’s just we’ve gone back to something that is slightly more in the name of common sense but we should never have moved away from that in the first place. We shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”
The controversial issue had set the FIA at loggerheads with the drivers since last September, when Max Verstappen was punished for swearing in an FIA press conference. The GPDA subsequently wrote an open letter to the governing body requesting a dialogue and demanding they were treated like adults. The FIA did not respond and Russell said they had still had “zero” contact from the governing body regarding the matter since.
Disappointed at the lack of communication, he suggested the president had his own agenda. “It doesn’t really make a lot of sense. It’s not challenging to have an open dialogue and ultimately that’s what everybody wants,” he said. “You just wonder whether it’s all a bit strategic the timing of these things.”
When asked if he was referring to the forthcoming re-election, Russell confirmed he was. Russell was not alone in his sense of dismay with the FIA, as Hamilton supported his former teammate’s stance.
“It is ridiculous,” Hamilton said. “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. So yeah, there’s lots of changes that are needed for sure.”
Carlo Sainz Sr, the father of the Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who is a hugely well-respected figure in the sport and a twice a winner of the world rally championship, is considering running for election to oppose Ben Sulayem but has had questions raised about his suitability given his son is still actively participating in F1. Russell said he believed Sainz Sr would be a “great” candidate and did not believe there would be any conflict of interest.
Verstappen concurred and welcomed the Spaniard standing. When asked if Sainz would be a better president, the world champion replied. “You can fill that in yourself.”
“He’s very well respected in the world here and in the rally world,” he added. “Of course people always say it’s conflicting with his son but I think he’s professional enough to keep that separated from each other. I think it would be a great addition to run for president.”
