"Wouldn’t want my five-year-old to see that": Max Verstappen takes a subtle dig at the FIA's swearing ban on his stream

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took a subtle dig at the FIA's swearing ban in the 2024 season, during his stream. The four-time F1 world champion found himself in the doldrums with the sport's governing body last year when he was pulled up and punished for using a swear word in a press conference.

While describing his car, the Dutch driver used an expletive and was punished by the FIA with one day of community service. The Dutchman protested the punishment by giving short answers at subsequent press conferences.

During his live Stream for Team Redline, Verstappen pulled off the quip when one of his panelists said the word "b******t" on the stream and said:

"Dom you can not swear like that, I wouldn’t want my five-year-old to see that.”

Former F1 driver and pundit Johnny Herbert, who also took up the role of race steward on many occasions, mentioned that he would not want his five-year-old grandkids to listen to Verstappen's comments. Verstappen later told ViaPlay:

"I understand that you can’t curse in a press conference, but it was language; it got out quickly. We all grew up like this, the people sat there as well. And certain people are saying: ‘My five-year-old grandchild is also watching this’. When I was 5 years old, I also sat between adults cursing. My parents didn’t curse at me, of course.

"But what do you think I said at school? You’ll always have that. If it is not said to me there, it’ll be used at school. You want to act tough as a child towards others. It’s a part of it. Of course, you have to watch your language, but to be punished like a toddler has me wondering, what are we doing in this sport?"

The row with the FIA did not affect Max Verstappen's on-track performance as he went on to win his fourth successive championship in an inferior car to his title rival Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen gives his take on the "big battle" in the 2025 season

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen predicted that the 2025 season would see a "big battle" amongst multiple teams as their rivals would not be sitting still after 2024.

As per Motorsporweek, the 27-year-old reflected:

“I also, of course, know that the other ones are not sitting still. So next year is going to be, I think, a big battle. But like I said before, even when you’re not the quickest, if you just keep maximizing those results, a lot is possible.”

In the 2024 season, seven drivers from four different teams won multiple races for the first time and, even saw Red Bull lose its grip on the Constructor's Championship and finish in P3 behind McLaren and Ferrari.