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.
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?
"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.