Charles Leclerc has stuck it to the FIA by calling for more ‘common sense’ over swearing punishments and demanding ‘transparency’ over where driver fines go. But the Ferrari star claims he and his F1 colleagues are yet to be given clear answers.
A row between drivers and the FIA over swearing has rumbled on in recent months. The sport’s governing body threw the book at Max Verstappen for a slip of the tongue in a Singapore Grand Prix press conference in September.
Leclerc was then fined over £8,000 for swearing during media interviews in Mexico City a month later. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem maintains that drivers are role models to young viewers and should take more responsibility for their language.
But Leclerc and co want greater leeway over things said in the heat of the moment. « We are reasonable enough to understand when we break the rules, » the 27-year-old told La Repubblica.
« On the track, it is important to have a steward who judges situations impartially, but to be fined for words that don’t directly hurt anyone and can be said in the heat of the moment in the car is absurd. »
Leclerc went on to explain how drivers are given little to no information on where the fines they pay actually end up. And though they have requested clarification from the FIA, he and his colleagues are yet to get it.
He continued: « We ask for a bit of common sense and a bit more transparency about the destination of the money raised by the fines: so far we have not had any answers. »
Leclerc is coming to the end of a four-year partnership with Carlos Sainz, who is leaving Ferrari to join Williams at the end of this season, when he will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton. Sainz and Leclerc have built a strong friendship and a healthy working relationship during their time with the Scuderia, but the Monegasque is eager to test his talents against a new rival.
« For sure, it’s going to be very special, » he admitted on Pirelli’s Box Box Box podcast. « Lewis is a seven-time world champion, the most successful driver in Formula 1 ever. So it’s going to be a big challenge for me.
« On the one hand, I can learn from Lewis while driving the same car as him, but on the other hand, I can also prove what I can do in the same car as him. That’s a big motivation for me. »
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