Max Verstappen makes his feelings known against FIA’s swearing tiff - “I was also sitting among adults and swearing when I was 5”

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen mentioned that he was sitting amongst adults and swearing at five while expressing his feelings regarding FIA's stance on swearing. The Dutch driver and the sport's governing body butted heads during the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix when the former was punished for using the swearing word.

Verstappen was further called out by former F1 driver and race steward Johnny Herbert, who criticized the Dutchman for swearing and claimed that he would not want his "five-year-old grandchildren" to watch the sport with drivers using cuss words.

Speaking with ViaPlay, Max Verstappen expressed his unfiltered views on the issue and mentioned that he did not like this aspect of the sport and said, via PlanetF1:

“That’s something I don’t like about F1. Of course, I understand that you can’t swear in a press conference, but it was an expression that came out very quickly. We all grew up like that, people sat there too. And some people say: ‘My five-year-old grandson is watching this too.’

“When I was five years old, I was also sitting among adults and swearing. You want to behave harshly like a child towards others. That’s part of it. Of course, you have to watch your language but to be punished like a little kid makes me wonder: what are we doing in this sport?”

Verstappen was given one day of community service as a punishment to the 27-year-old which he duly served ahead of the annual FIA Gala in Rwanda, a week after the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

George Russell gives his take on Max Verstappen's 2024 title win

Mercedes driver George Russell stated that he believed that Max Verstappen should not have won the championship in the 2024 season but mentioned that the other drivers made mistakes.

Speaking with The Times, the British driver said:

“Arguably, Max shouldn’t have won the championship this year, but the others made a few more errors and didn’t capitalize when they had the chance. I feel that we have [won what we could].

"Opportunities don’t come around every single day. This year was Lando’s chance. They [McLaren] might be there again next year. They may not. We just don’t know in this sport; nobody would have predicted Red Bull to fall off form in the manner that they have."

Despite winning just two races from the last 14 and three Sprints, Max Verstappen was able to sustain the challenge from Lando Norris due to his consistent on-track performances despite driving an inferior car to his title rival.

At the end of the year, Verstappen secured his fourth successive championship with a lead of 63 points and finished with 437 points whilst Red Bull lost their Constructor's Championship to the Woking-based outfit and Ferrari.