Over the weekend in Singapore, one of the issues that generated the most buzz and interest was the clash between the FIA and Max Verstappen, with the latter punished for using foul language during the Thursday press conference. The Dutchman will now have to carry out socially useful work, as decided by the governing body, even if he has received the support of the other pilots who consider the Federation’s choice excessive.
A sanction that the three-time world champion did not appreciate, so much so that he responded in monosyllables in the official FIA press conference after qualifying, and then organized a “private” one with journalists, in which he spoke freely. An attitude that was also repeated on Sunday at the end of the race, a sign that the story does not seem to have ended after a few hours. Now the three-week break before Austin will give time to clear things up, even if Verstappen has made no secret that he could continue on this path in the United States too.
When asked if this “punishment” could put his future in F1 at risk, Max did not deny that it could weigh on him. A theme to keep in mind especially considering that the Red Bull driver has never hidden his desire to try his hand in other championships having arrived in F1 very early. Clearly it is difficult to think about retiring in the immediate future, but the Dutchman has always said that certain attitudes are difficult to accept lightly.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
“I’m at a stage in my career where I don’t want to have to deal with this problem all the time. It’s really tiring,” Verstappen said in Singapore.
“Of course, it’s nice to be successful and win races, but once you’ve achieved all that, winning championships and races, then you also want to have fun. If you have to deal with this kind of nonsense, for me it’s not a way to continue playing sport , that’s for sure.”
Helmut Marko, a consultant for Red Bull, believes that Max Verstappen’s threats to abandon Formula 1 following this story should be taken seriously. In fact, speaking exclusively with Motorsport.com’s sister publication, Motorsport-Total.comMarko explained that his protégé is not bluffing about the possibility of abandoning the top flight in favor of some other category.
“You have to take Max seriously. He has achieved a lot, but for him it is important that he also enjoys the whole sport. If this becomes more and more difficult, then he has a character that when he says: ‘Okay, it’s over’, he says it seriously, but I hope the current situation doesn’t lead to him retiring any time soon.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The FIA has clarified that these speeches are essentially linked to maintaining correct language during official press conferences, so much so that last year Frederic Vasseur and Toto Wolff were also called by the commissioners for a word used on Friday in Las Vegas. Paradoxically, however, Formula 1 has made Gunther Steiner one of its stars in recent years, also due to his very colorful language in the Netflix series Drive to Survive. A contradiction that Marko himself wanted to underline.
“Yes, it’s not understandable and there are double standards. And what’s more, Max wasn’t referring to a person. He was referring to the car, to an object, and he did it almost unconsciously. Ok, maybe in a press conference if it has to be handled so strictly, we will take a different approach in the future. But it is clearly exaggerated.”
Ahead of October’s US Grand Prix in Austin, F1 drivers’ association GPDA and representatives of the FIA and F1 will meet in private talks to air their concerns, and Verstappen has received support from many of his colleagues on the issue .
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