1 day Ago By Harry Smith
Max Verstappen took a dig at Toto Wolff during a sim-racing live stream, joking that his friend should not swear because the reigning world champion’s ‘five-year-old’ would hear it. The Red Bull driver remains defiant over his stance on driver swearing, even though the season is over. The Dutchman’s language was a constant topic of debate in 2024 after the FIA hit Verstappen with a community service punishment for swearing during the Thursday press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Many drivers came out in support of Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris among those backing the Red Bull man. However, a group of vocal detractors, including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, steward Johnny Herbert and Mercedes boss Wolff, supported the clampdown. Verstappen made it clear that he has not forgotten their criticisms during a recent Team Redline sim-racing stream.
After one of his team-mates swore on the broadcast, the Red Bull driver replied: “Dom, you cannot swear like that. I wouldn’t want my five-year-old to see that.” The 27-year-old’s comments are a sly dig at those of Mercedes principal Wolff, who believes his son has started swearing after listening to F1 drivers.
FOM often broadcasts radio messages containing expletives during races to enhance the storylines on screen. “I have a seven-year-old that go-karts and that watches everything,” the Mercedes chief said. “It is the first time, a few months ago, that he said, ‘What the f**k’, and I said, ‘Where did you hear that from?’ “He said from the drivers.
So I have my conflicts with Mohammed, but in that instance the drivers, all of the drivers, are role models. They are on air and they are entitled, and they are empowered. “I disagree with many of the other things that he came up with, but on that one, I think if you translate ‘f**k’ into your own language or my language, it is pretty rude.
I would never say that on the radio. “George [Russell] and I, and Lewis had this conversation, and they know I don’t like it. So I am perfectly fine that we are really able to limit that.
There are a handful of drivers, some native, some not, that come out with the things and, for me, I would be happy to sanction that even more. That’s just my opinion.”.
