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Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc recently called for the FIA to be more transparent about the use of fines collected in Formula 1.
At each Grand Prix, financial sanctions are imposed for various reasons, such as rule infractions or behavior deemed inappropriate. At a press conference after the Mexican Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver blurted out the famous “F word” before immediately apologizing. But too late, the damage was done… This earned him a fine of 10,000 euros. In Singapore, Max Verstappen was sentenced to community service for comments deemed inappropriate.
These decisions are justified by the desire of the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to maintain the drivers in their role as models, believing that their public behavior must be exemplary.
Read also: F1 drivers attack the FIA and its president
However, this approach is not unanimous among drivers, as evidenced by the latest publication from the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association). Made up of drivers on the F1 grid, they believe that such restrictions are unnecessary and point out that Ben Sulayem himself has sometimes resorted to inappropriate language.
Leclerc wants more common sense and transparency
Charles Leclerc and other pilots are demanding clarification on the allocation of funds generated by these fines, questioning their purpose.
« We are reasonable enough to understand when we break the rules. On the track it is important to have a steward who judges situations impartially, but to be fined for words that do not directly hurt anyone and can be said in the heat of the moment in the car is absurd“, the Ferrari driver told La Repubblica.
“We ask for a little common sense and a little more transparency on the destination of the money collected by the fines: until now, we have not had any answers“, concluded the Monegasque pilot.
Read also: Video; Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz test the F80 at Fiorano
