Max Verstappen says swearing punishment ‘ridiculous’ after Singapore Grand Prix news conference protest

His words are a reference to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who triggered the controversy with an interview in which he said he wanted drivers not to swear in their cars.

The remarks, to Autosport magazine, related to the use of team radio in television and radio broadcasts. Transmissions are vetted and broadcast on delay and swear words are bleeped out.

Ben Sulayem’s comments annoyed the drivers, and it seems that Verstappen’s animated behaviour in Thursday’s official news conference was at least partly influenced by them.

He said he had support from his fellow drivers.

“Of course some speak out more than others,” Verstappen said, “but in general it is quite clear what everyone thinks.”

Ben Sulayem’s comments also seem to mark a retreat from a pledge he made early last year, when he said he would be taking a step back from direct involvement in F1.

In the interview, Ben Sulayem said that F1 had to “differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music”, adding: “We’re not rappers, you know. They say the f-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us].”

Hamilton accused Ben Sulayem of using “stereotypical” language with a “racial element”, saying: “If you think about it, most rappers are black.

“So when it says: ‘We are not like them’, those are the wrong choice of words.”