F1 swearing controversy 'all a bit suspect'

George Russell is fourth in the drivers' championship

Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

Venue: Imola Dates: 16-18 May Race start: 14:00 BST on Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary of all sessions on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app

The back-and-forth controversy over punishing Formula 1 drivers for swearing is "all a bit suspect", says Mercedes driver George Russell.

Governing body the FIA this week climbed down on its previous stance of drivers facing potential bans for swearing or criticising officials, and dramatically reduced the possible fines that could be issued.

Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said: "We're talking about a situation where things have been reverted because it was a little bit ludicrous in the first place.

"Of course we're happy to see that it (has been changed), but it should never have been there in the first place, if that makes sense.

"So it feels a bit wrong to be thanking (them for) the changes when we shouldn't have been in that place to begin with."

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton added that the situation was "ridiculous".

The seven-time champion said: "It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There's lots of changes that are needed, for sure."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen - who last year was the first driver to be punished for swearing, with a form of community service - said the change was "a bit better - it's a start".

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said when the change of rules was announced on Wednesday that he had "led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships".

However, speaking during media day at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell said: "We've still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it's all a bit suspect."

Russell did not expand on his meaning, but it is likely that he was referring to the series of controversies that have surrounded Ben Sulayem in his three years as president, including his desire to change the statutes of the governing body to further extend his control, as BBC Sport revealed this week.

Asked why the drivers had not had dialogue with Ben Sulayem, Russell said: "That's a good question. It seems more challenging than it should be really, but we've all put our views forward.

"I wouldn't say it's gotten to a point of no return, but you at least want to see willingness from the other party.

"I think we feel we've put our views forward and we want to have conversations and dialogue and there's only so much you can ask."

World championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren said: "The fact there has been changes made is good. The stewards have a lot more control now, in the fine print, which is good because the circumstances definitely need to be taken into account.

"It's a good step forward. One of the big things for the FIA was putting something for abusing officials which I think is very fair and reasonable.

"I think maybe some of the other areas got caught up in that and it felt a bit harsh. But there are some genuine reasons for what they are doing."

Russell also backed the potential bid of rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr in this December's FIA presidential election.

Sainz is the father of Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

"It could only benefit the sport having Carlos with the inside knowledge of Formula 1 from a driver's perspective and then Carlos Sr's knowledge from motorsport generally. It could be a brilliant recipe," he said.

Russell dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz's son, who is also a GPDA director.

He said: "You're so far sort of removed ultimately from a technical standpoint. It's down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.

"The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we've seen recently and far less visible.

"We always knew who the president of the FIA was, especially with Jean Todt, but you're working in the background, you're not working in the forefront. So I don't see there ever being a conflict."

Analysis

Mohammed Ben Sulayem became FIA president in December 2021

The comments made by Russell, Hamilton and Verstappen on the F1 swearing controversy on media day at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix reflect the drivers' frustration with the conduct of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

His tenure at the FIA has been marked by a long series of controversies, from imposing a jewellery ban on drivers, to getting mixed up in a bizarre dispute with Toto and Susie Wolff that has led to a lawsuit against the FIA, through changing the FIA's rules to give himself more power, to intervening on engine rules before the new ones have even come into force, to name but a few.

Russell has been talking for some months now about Ben Sulayem's complete lack of engagement with the drivers, and they were not impressed by his remarks in an interview some months ago that what he was doing was none of their business.

For Ben Sulayem to claim in an Instagram post that telegraphed the recent rule change that he had consulted drivers on the matter, only for the F1 drivers to turn around and say there had been no dialogue at all, underlines the state of the relationship.

The drivers can talk to the FIA - single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and the stewards regularly meet with them. But it is the president with whom they have an issue.

Within F1, there is a weariness about the whole situation, and a constant wondering what will come next.

Right now, despite being knocked back by the manufacturers on his desire to introduce V10 engines to F1, Ben Sulayem is said to be still pushing the idea in the background.

What will happen next? No one knows.

But the generally positive reaction people in F1 have given to the idea of rally legend Carlos Sainz running for the FIA presidency speaks volumes as to what they think about the incumbent, even if drivers and team bosses are not willing to spell that out in public, for fear of reprisals.