Throughout his time in F1, Max Verstappen has built a reputation for pushing the rules to their edge, drawing frequent attention from race stewards.
His aggressive defending during that year led the FIA to introduce a ban on moving under braking, a regulation quickly nicknamed ‘the Verstappen rule’.
Now with more than 200 races under his belt, Verstappen hasn’t lost that edge. He currently sits on six penalty points but had 11 earlier this season – just one short of an automatic race ban. But Verstappen has also been investigated for one high-profile off-track offence too.
Max Verstappen believes he’s the only F1 driver to be punished for swearing
Verstappen was handed a community service-style punishment after swearing during a press conference at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, describing his Red Bull as “f—–.” With FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem tightening up rules around driver conduct, Verstappen was assigned “work of public interest” as a result.
He served this by attending the FIA prizegiving ceremony in Rwanda but made his feelings clear by refusing to take part in the official post-qualifying media session in Singapore, choosing instead to speak with reporters outside.
“Well, I’m the only one who’s been punished for using a swear word,” he said. “So I have to be very careful with what I say and do.”
“Do I think they’re just out to get me? No, I’m not necessarily saying that. I’m just pointing out what happened last season.”
Piastri had collected a penalty point for ignoring blue flags while lapping Lewis Hamilton. But Verstappen didn’t feel it was up to him to chase consistency on penalties.
“And next week in Qatar, I don’t think I need to say much in that meeting either,” he explained. “Because George and Carlos will probably have everything ready.”
Are there any other F1 drivers who have been penalised for swearing?
Carlos Sainz used similar language during a Bahrain Grand Prix press conference earlier in the year, but after apologising to the FIA, the matter wasn’t taken any further. That may have added to Verstappen’s sense of frustration.
Just weeks after Verstappen’s penalty, Charles Leclerc was fined for a similar outburst at the Mexico City GP.
Leclerc quickly apologised but was still handed a €5k (£4.4k) fine, with another €5k suspended. He wasn’t asked to do community service though.
The GPDA put out a statement at the end of last season calling on drivers to be treated like adults and pointing out the difference between casual swearing and targeted insults.
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