Bottas defends FIA’s approach regarding swearing

On the back of the latest saga revolving around swearing, Kick Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas insists that although drivers are also ‘humans’, they should act as role model.

The issue arose after Mohammed Ben Sulayem issued a statement two weeks ago, confirming that the FIA will take a stricter approach regarding swearing. Just days after the FIA President’s announcement, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was investigated for using bad language at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Dutch racer was due to attend FIA's press conference that usually takes place on Thursday ahead of the race weekend. The reigning champion used bad language for which he was summoned to the stewards.

The incident happened after Verstappen was asked to reflect on the performance of his car, describing his car’s setup at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as “f—ed”.

After the stewards reviewed the audio transcript and heard from the driver and Red Bull team representatives, they elected to punish Verstappen for swearing in the pre-event press conference, with the Red Bull driver now obliged “to accomplish some work of public interest”.

Reflecting on the issue, Sauber F1 driver Valtteri Bottas noted: “It is tricky because drivers should be an example in the way that they behave."

"But in the end, we're still humans and we've grown up at race tracks all our lives. There are some common words we use, get used to using, and normally people don't take them as offensive."

"It is tricky to correct that if it is your habit, but I think it is quite personal as well. We will get used to it. It is what it is. We will speak about it, no doubt, and let's see how we go,” Bottas concluded.