Max Verstappen makes feelings clear on FIA's swearing ban with Jose Mourinho-esque remark

Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen recently made a Jose Mourinho-esque remark when speaking about FIA's swear ban. The new regulations came out in the month of January.

Red Bull’s star driver, Verstappen, has enjoyed remarkable success in recent years, clinching his fourth consecutive drivers' championship in 2024. However, he faced a setback when he was required to complete F1’s equivalent of community service after using an expletive during a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Speaking at the official launch of the 2025 F1 season in London on Tuesday, Verstappen responded to a question about the swearing ban with a Mourinho-esque comment (as quoted by talksport):

"Yeah I prefer not to speak about that, I’ll get in trouble. So it’s better not to answer that."

The answer resembled football legend Jose Mourinho's infamous reply to a question about a refereeing decision during Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League in 2014.

Expanding further on his stance, Max Verstappen acknowledged the reasoning behind the rule. However, he also pointed out the difficulty of always adhering to it, stating (as quoted by Sky Sports F1):

"Of course, I understand that you cannot always swear everywhere you go. I think we all understand that as racing drivers, but sometimes, in the heat of the moment or when you get interviewed, when you're in your car or whatever, you've just had an adrenaline rush or whatever, sometimes things slip out a little bit."

Notably, World Rally Championship driver Adrien Fourmaux was recently slapped with a £10,000 fine for swearing during a recent race.

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Max Verstappen makes feelings known about new teammate Liam Lawson

A Red Bull Junior Team driver, Liam Lawson is set to partner alongside the dominant Max Verstappen in 2025. The Kiwi driver first made headlines in the 2024 season while standing in for Daniel Ricciardo at RB (formerly AlphaTauri) after Ricciardo's contract was terminated.

Following his brief but promising stint, Lawson secured a full-time Red Bull seat, replacing Sergio Perez. When asked about his new teammate in an interview with F1.com, Max Verstappen expressed confidence in Lawson’s abilities. He said:

"We’ve seen each other at the photo shoots. I’m sure it’s going to be fine – I’ve seen Liam grow throughout the junior team and he fully deserves his shot with the team. I’m excited to work together and have a great season again."

He added:

"We are very experienced and I think we showed that last year. We were still maximising our results and that’s a big strength of the team. Let’s see. It’s exciting."

Liam Lawson wrapped up the 2024 season with four championship points to his name. He competed in the final six races of the campaign alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, won nine races on his way to his fourth championship. The Dutch secured 437 points.