Max Verstappen F1 News: FIA blasted over Red Bull star's PUNISHMENT as F1 urged to take action

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FIA blasted over Verstappen PUNISHMENT as F1 urged to take action

Max Verstappen and the FIA have been embroiled in a public row!

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Thursday 10 October 2024 19:57 Updated: 16:48

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Max Verstappen's FIA war will not go away with a former Formula 1 race winner blasting the sport's governing body following the three-time world champion's punishment.

At the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen was given the F1 equivalent of community service after using a swear word to describe how his car had performed at the previous race.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen PUNISHMENT verdict delivered as Perez branded Red Bull problem

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This came amid a swearing clampdown from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and as a result, Verstappen was duly punished.

Since then, the FIA has been heavily criticised for the incident, and Verstappen himself has even threatened that he could quit the sport over their 'silly' rules.

Max Verstappen has been in a public feud with the FIA

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is keen to clamp down on swearing

F1 urged to take Verstappen action

Now, the double standards of the FIA have been called out by former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

In a scathing FIA verdict, the popular Colombian urged F1 to step in so that the sport did not lose the Red Bull star.

"Being at Red Bull has been a huge thing for Max. He can be himself and Red Bull is OK with that. The FIA over-reacted," Montoya declared to Gambling Zone.

"After what happened in the press conference Max should just have been given a warning. It's petty as hell. And why?

Juan Pablo Montoya won seven races in F1

"The way he managed it, I think it's classic. At the end of the day, F1 at some point is going to tell the FIA to leave him alone because they need him.

“At some point, the FIA has to go, ‘Oh, we screwed up.’. But at the same time, they will feel that they need to stand by their decision as well.”

Montoya went on to call out the double standards of the FIA making a very interesting point.

“They say they want drivers to be nice (and not swear) so why are they happy to publicise when they're screaming on the radio?," the Colombian questioned.

“And nobody talks about that because they know they want to build the sport and create that atmosphere.

“That is great. But you can’t have it both ways.”