George Russell has hit out at the FIA’s handling of its swearing crackdown, calling the ongoing saga a “strange predicament” and insisting the harsh penalties “should never have happened”.
The Mercedes driver has long been critical of punishing drivers for profanity and showed no signs of backing down, refusing to praise the governing body for its recent tweaks to the rule.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem spearheaded a thorough review of Appendix B of the International Sporting Code, resulting in a halving of the fine for swearing and granting stewards the power to suspend penalties in certain cases.
The review included input from the FIA Drivers’ Committee, chaired by Ronan Morgan, along with Garry Connelly, representing the Formula 1 Steward Chairs.
However, speaking ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell made clear his frustration with how the FIA has managed the whole situation.
“Well, I feel the changes should have never happened in the first place,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“So 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 things go back to how they should be, but it should never have been there in the first place, if that makes sense.
“So it feels a bit wrong to be thanking the changes when we shouldn’t have been in that place to begin with.
“It’s a bit of a strange predicament and we’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from senior level of FIA – so, yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”
Verstappen and Hamilton weigh in on swearing saga
One driver who isn’t afraid to speak his mind when it comes to criticising the FIA is Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman offered his verdict on the situation.
“It’s a positive start, I would say – at least they’ve done it,” he chimed in.
“I’m pleased that they realised that what they had before was probably a bit too aggressive.”
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton admitted he hadn’t heard his ex-Mercedes team-mate’s comments, but described the entire saga as “a mess”.
“I mean, it is ridiculous – I don’t really know; nothing I say is going to make any difference to this,” the seven-time World Champion stated.
“It seems a bit of a mess out there at the moment, and yeah, there’s lots of changes that are needed for sure.”
A director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), Russell and his fellow racing colleagues penned a letter to the FIA after the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British driver has often expressed his frustration with the lack of response from the governing body regarding the statement.
In Imola, he added: “It seems more challenging than it should be, really.
“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.
“There’s only so much you can ask, so yeah, it’s got to be mutual and it’s got to come from both directions.”
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