Max Verstappen, Formula 1’s reigning king of speed, has lashed out at the FIA’s latest move to silence drivers on the airwaves. The fiery Dutchman has called out the sport’s governing body for its ridiculous demand to sanitize team radio communications, saying drivers “aren’t five-year-olds” and slamming attempts to muzzle the natural, adrenaline-fueled expressions of racers in the heat of battle.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s push to restrict the broadcast of curse words, suggesting that F1 needs to be more like a prim and proper classroom than the raw, high-octane battleground it is, has left Verstappen fuming. Ben Sulayem, apparently more concerned with the feelings of viewers than the raw essence of the sport, bizarrely compared F1 to rap music, implying that drivers need to be role models at all times – even when fighting tooth and nail at 200 mph.
But Verstappen, never one to hold back, fired back with his own sharp critique: “What are we even talking about here? If you don’t want to hear the reality of racing, then maybe just don’t broadcast it!” Max pointed out the obvious: sports are emotional, athletes get heated, and the F1 cockpit isn’t a place for sugar-coated words. It’s a place where passions explode and drivers push beyond their limits.
Max was unapologetic, dismissing the idea of policing driver language as nonsense. He ridiculed the notion of banning common expletives, emphasizing that what really needs fixing isn’t the drivers’ raw expressions but the decision to broadcast them in the first place. He mocked the idea that kids watching F1 are somehow being corrupted, stating bluntly that no amount of censorship would keep young fans from eventually learning those very words on the playground.
“Why act like swearing is a scandal? This is F1, not kindergarten,” Verstappen roared. He’s adamant that the real problem lies not in the cockpit but in the FOM’s choices. “They love to show every little thing and then get upset about it,” he quipped. Verstappen’s message was clear: let racers be racers and stop trying to sanitize the sport into something it’s not.
