FIA Criticism: Marko Defends Verstappen's Right to Enjoy Racing

Helmut Marko criticizes the FIA, claiming excessive rules diminish driver enjoyment, following Verstappen’s controversial penalty in Singapore.

Dr. Helmut Marko has spoken for the first time about the FIA’s penalty imposed on his driver, Max Verstappen.

The three-time world champion was sanctioned with community service for using a curse word during the Thursday press conference in Singapore.

“The FIA has gone in the wrong direction with Max’s punishment, as he used a swear word (Fuck) that is so commonly heard in the racing world that it’s practically part of the everyday language. Moreover, he used it to describe an object—his car—rather than a person,” commented Red Bull’s consultant in his column for Speedweek.

“I think this should be measured against other standards. If you look at what Günther Steiner has done, for instance, without any consequences, this is clearly exaggerated and ridiculous. We have completely different concerns, but I found Max’s response to be very good. He stayed well within the limits and expressed his thoughts in very brief terms during his other press conferences.”

Indeed, Verstappen was very terse after both qualifying and the race in the official press conferences, saving his comments for his own media debriefs.

For Marko, “we need to allow emotions. Or, if you’re that much of a moralist, you can simply ignore irrelevant remarks. In general, Formula 1 is an emotional sport where drivers express their feelings according to their temperament.”

“As a team, we can’t do much; we can only hope that the sporting authorities will agree.”

“Too many rules shouldn’t take away the drivers’ enjoyment of their job. Max needs to enjoy himself and know that the sport he practices can also be appreciated. Personally, I’m a supporter of the old English saying, ‘let them race.’”