"What are we 5 year olds, 6 year olds?": Max Verstappen lashes out at FIA's recent move to censor driver language during F1 broadcast

Max Verstappen has hit out at the FIA following the F1 governing body's efforts to curb swearing during F1 broadcasts. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently shared his desire to censor driver language during the race, and this did not go down well with the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen, known for his blunt takes, questioned the logic behind Mohammed Ben Sulayem's comments on drivers needing to curb their profanities. During the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix media day, Max Verstappen compared the FIA's efforts to censor expletives with that of parental guidance for young kids. He said (via RacingNews365):

"Yeah, excuse me for the language but come on, like, what are we, five-year-olds, six-year-olds?" Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching, they will eventually swear anyway, even if the parents want or they will not allow it, when they grow up, they will walk around with their friends and they will be swearing, so this is not changing anything."

During races, drivers often get into heated exchanges with their race engineers, and under tense situations, they utter profanities. While those words are often bleeped out, at times they are heard by the audience - which is comprised of people of all ages.

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What did the FIA boss say about driver language that Max Verstappen did not agree with?

(From Left) Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President, and Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group. Source: Getty Images

The FIA boss, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, urged the F1 fraternity to be more wary of their language on team radio. Comparing the language of drivers to that of rappers, Sulayem said that rappers often use profanities in their language, and that the FIA is working towards curtailing profanities uttered by the teams and/or drivers during races.

Ben Sulayem told Autosport in an exclusive:

“I mean, we have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. 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]."

The FIA boss then shared his personal experience and added that despite the emotional intensity in such situations, drivers need to be more responsible with their language.

“I know, I was a driver. In the heat of the moment, when you think you are upset because another driver came to you and pushed you. When I used to drive in the dust [and something like that happened], I would get upset. But also, we have to be careful with our conduct. We need to be responsible people," he added.