Not only in Formula 1 do drivers need to watch their language – the FIA also takes a hard line against participants who swear in rally racing. Max Verstappen previously received a community service penalty for using the word ‘fucked‘, while rally driver Sébastien Ogier was fined 30,000 euros for foul language. This sparked outrage within the rally community, with several drivers protesting by keeping their lips tightly sealed.
Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier was dissatisfied earlier this month after a rally test in Greece. In a loose translation, he compared the race management to ‘a bunch of airheads’ because they did not take into account the amount of dust on the course. The FIA, which has recently been cracking down on swearing in motorsports, imposed a fine of 30,000 euros on Ogier for this statement.
The organization ruled that the Frenchman had violated Article 12.2.1.f of the sports regulations. Ogier’s comments were deemed to have caused ‘moral damage to the FIA, its bodies, its members, or its executive officers’. However, Ogier did not let it rest and staged a silent protest during a rally test in Chile last weekend. In a similar vein to Max Verstappen, the Toyota driver kept his answers short and non-committal during a press conference.
‘We Must Keep Our Mouths Shut’
Ogier received support from Estonian Ott Tänak of Hyundai, who also remained silent during a barrage of questions from the press. Ogier later told RallyTV that he was disappointed that it had come to this. “I understand that this is not a great response,” he explained. “It’s nothing personal against the interviewers, and I want to apologize to the fans. Unfortunately, we have been told by the top of the FIA that we must keep our mouths shut. This is not only happening in rallying,” he referred to the conflict between the FIA and Max Verstappen. “We will see if anything changes in the future.”
The FIA fined rally driver Sebastien Ogier 30,000 euros for swearing.
