Toto Wolff supports FIA president Ben Sulayem’s stance on swearing, calling for harsher penalties to set a better example for younger fans.
George Russell has renewed his attack on Max Verstappen, claiming that the Dutch driver violated FIA rules on swearing by threatening him. The Mercedes F1 driver expressed frustration over the poor example set for younger generations.
“I have an eight-year-old nephew who just started karting, who watches all my races, watches TikTok, watches YouTube,” Russell said. “And for a world champion to say he’ll do everything he can to hit someone and put them on their head, that’s not the kind of role model we should be.”
His team principal, Toto Wolff, expressed support for stricter FIA measures, aligning for once with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem after his son was impolite.
“As George said, he has an eight-year-old nephew who does karting and watches everything. I have a seven-year-old child who’s the same, doing karting, watching it all. A few months ago, it was the first time he said ‘what the fuck’,” Wolff said.
“I asked where he had heard that. ‘From the drivers.’ So, you know, I have my disagreements with Mohammed… I didn’t agree with a lot of other things he proposed. But on this one, I think it’s quite rude. I’d be happy to see this sanctioned even more.”
“In this case, all drivers are role models and are on air. They have rights, powers, and that’s agreed upon along with many other things. If you translate it, the word f*** in my language is quite vulgar. I would never say that on the radio. And George, Lewis, and I have had these conversations.”
“They know I don’t like it, so I’m perfectly fine, and we’ve really managed to limit this. It’s a handful of drivers, some native, others not, who have used this language, and for me, I’d be happy to see it penalized even more.”
Asked about his desire to have Verstappen penalized after revealing the Dutchman’s comments behind the scenes (with a threat to put him in the wall in Qatar), Russell assured it wasn’t his intention but that he wanted to defend his image: “I have no idea. I’m not looking for Max to be penalized. I’m not looking for repercussions.”
“I’m defending myself, defending a guy who questions my integrity as a person and criticizes me in the press. I just want to set the record straight. As I said, everyone has the right to their own opinion. But for me, he crossed the line this weekend, and it was too much.”
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Wolff joins FIA president in backing stricter rules Wolff joins FIA president in backing stricter rules
