Guenther Steiner pulls no punches in his criticism of FIA's anti-swearing guidelines

Guenther Steiner delivered his verdict on the swearing ban that the FIA introduced before the 2025 F1 season. He criticized the governing body, mentioning the physicality that drivers go through during a race.

Earlier this year, the FIA, governing body of F1 and other international motorsports, introduced new regulations for driver 'misconducts,' including swearing during the FIA-sanctioned events. As per the regulations, drivers could be fined upon their first offense and might also observe a loss of championship points later.

There has been an outrage regarding this rule. Guenther Steiner, Haas' former team principal, also mentioned his disregard for the rule, stating that the sport "lives off emotions."

"[The] sport lives off emotions, you know. And then when you're going 200 miles per hour and somebody cuts you off, you're not like 'excuse me, can you do this differently?'" He said, via The Project.

The penalties are spread over a number of offenses. On the first offense, a driver will be fined €40,000 ($41,600). However, on a second offense, they would be fined €80,000 ($83,200) with a one-month suspension from races. The third suspension would include a deduction of championship points along with a one-month suspension.

The FIA has been largely active since last year, asking drivers to avoid the use of strong language during the media sessions. More famously, Max Verstappen was handed community service last year for the same.

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Guenther Steiner assesses a tough year for Max Verstappen in 2025

Formula 1 Testing in Bahrain - Day 1 - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen has won four consecutive F1 World Championships since 2021, dominating the grid in 2022 and 2023. While Red Bull looked unbeatable in those two years, the team suffered a major setback in 2024.

Last season started strong for Verstappen and Red Bull; however, as they approached mid-season, their competitors upgraded their machines much better, with McLaren and Ferrari snatching wins. As the season came to a close, RBR fell to third place in the Constructors' Championship. Despite their performance, Versappen managed to clinch his fourth title.

With the 2025 season just around the corner, Steiner assessed a tough challenge for the Dutchman. Discussing what happened last year, he mentioned that Verstappen got frustrated after he started losing races.

"I would say last year, when he started not to win, he reacted, pretty aggressively," Steiner said, via PlanetF1. "But then at some stage, I think he realised, ‘I need to be smart about this and just take home as many points as I can, even if I’m not winning a race’."

Guenther Steiner further discussed the difficulties that Max Verstappen could face this year.

"But for sure, if he hasn’t got a good car where he can win, he will get very difficult to manage as well, I would say, because he will be vocal about it that he’s not happy. And an unhappy Max is not a nice Max, as we all know.

"But he’s a very good driver, I think the best in the moment. And for sure, he will put his effort in to win races, to win the championship again, but it will not be easy, as we saw last year," Guenther Steiner said.

Red Bull is not expected to be a dominant force this season, especially with Adrian Newey out of the team. While the team could fight for victories, it would not be an easy cruise to another title.