Toto Wolff stands firmly with Max Verstappen over FIA swear ban penalty amidst 2026 rumors
Toto Wolff showcased his firm support to Max Verstappen over the latter's recent tiff with FIA over swearing in a press conference.
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Toto Wolff and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
The entire Formula 1 paddock was taken aback following Max Verstappen‘s penalty of ‘community service’ after he dropped the F-bomb in the Singapore press conference. FIA had recently banned using swear words on team radio. However, the 26-year-old didn’t expect such a stern reaction from the governing body.
Toto Wolff was amongst the sea of supporters backing Max Verstappen regarding the penalty over such a petty matter. The Mercedes boss didn’t hesitate to claim that ‘nobody’ listened to the FIA president during the press conferences. The reason for this was that there wasn’t a big audience present at that moment and only included the drivers and the team members.
I don't think anybody listens to the FIA president at a press conference anyway... It's not a big audience. We are the group.Toto Wolff said, as reported by GPblog.com
On the contrary, according to Wolff, all the team members and drivers knew each other better than the third parties involved. Additionally, these people were the ones traveling to different places and being frustrated due to multiple reasons. Hence, Wolff believed that dropping the F-bomb during the press conference wasn’t the ‘worst thing.’
We are all part of that travelling circus. We know each other. And I don't think that using the F-word in a press conference is the worst thing.Toto Wolff added
Toto Wolff claimed he wouldn’t ‘necessarily ban’ the use of the F-word
Toto Wolff has often put forth his opinions on the grave matters relating to Formula 1. Hence, speaking upon FIA’s ban on swear words, Wolff noted that he wouldn’t ban the use of the word completely. However, the team principal would advocate lessening the use of such words while being live.
If we can dim it down a little bit, I think that's good for all of us, but I wouldn't necessarily ban the F word.Toto Wolff noted
FIA had already commented on the matter and cleared their side of the story. Such issues are sometimes necessary to make the governing body more aware of the people’s needs. The sport is likely to continue to listen to the people in order to make it more enjoyable and inclusive. Certainly, Mohammed Ben Sulayem would be answerable soon enough for such issues between FIA and the drivers.
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Aditya Pandya
(1460 Articles Published)