Exclusive: Guenther Steiner’s alternative to FIA’s Max Verstappen swearing punishment
Max Verstappen plugs his ears at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Guenther Steiner has criticised the way the FIA have handled the banning of swearing by F1 drivers and suggested they should have solved any grievances in private.
Max Verstappen became the first target of the rule enforced by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem but Steiner believes drivers like the Dutchman should have been spoken to in private.
Guenther Steiner criticises FIA swearing ban approach
Verstappen was ordered to do community service by the FIA having said his car was “f**ked” in a press conference ahead of the Singapore GP, a punishment that was met largely with derision from his fellow drivers and pundits alike.
When the topic of swearing in F1, Steiner, who was known to be more foul-mouthed than most, was mentioned but he joked “why do I come up?!” when speaking with PlanetF1.com.
Asked if the FIA was right to go after things like swearing, Steiner suggested there were other things to focus on.
“I think why go into such small details?” he told PlanetF1.com. “If you want to tone it down, don’t challenge somebody publicly, a World Champion, especially the guy who carries a lot more weight than anybody.
“If you don’t like it or if you think you’re on the wrong way, sit down with the drivers. They are in the drivers’ briefing every weekend. Go in there say ‘hey guys, thank you. Could you just moderate your language a little bit?'”
Another figure in defence of Verstappen was chairman of the GPDA Alex Wurz who referenced Steiner in his reaction to the punishment.
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“One of the questions that comes to mind most often is: How many lifetimes would Guenther Steiner have to do community service, and he was glorified with his F-word in Netflix , which is broadcast worldwide,” Wurz told ORF.
“So in that respect, you ask yourself, what is really the message, what is behind it? And that is simply too harsh a punishment.”
Wurz also suggested the FIA had “overdone it” and the matter had “not been carried out correctly.”
Verstappen himself revealed how the verdict was met when he shared it in the drivers’ WhatsApp group, saying “practically everyone just laughed about it. As if to say: ‘What the hell is that?’ So yes, it is very, very stupid.”
Guenther Steiner was speaking to PlanetF1.com in promotion of his new book Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula One which is out now.
