Formula One F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 5, 2024 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the grand prix REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff showed some rare support on Thursday for FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his campaign to cut swearing in the sport.
Wolff spoke out after his driver George Russell repeated to reporters the language he said Red Bull's Max Verstappen used towards him after being stripped of pole position at last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
It contained the same 'F-word' Verstappen used in a Singapore press conference in September and that earned him a punishment of having to carry out unspecified "work of public interest".
Ben Sulayem has urged drivers to cut the swearing, comparing them to rappers and reminding them of their influence as role models.
"I've got an eight-year-old nephew who's just started go-karting, who watches all of my races, watches TikTok, watches YouTube," Russell said.
"And for a world champion to be coming out saying he's going to go out of his way to crash into someone and put them on their effing head, that is not the sort of role models we should be."
Wolff agreed.
"I have a thing about the swearing. Like George said, he has an eight-year-old nephew that go-karts and watches all of them. I have a similar seven-year-old that go-karts, that watches everything.
"It's a first time, a few months ago, that he said, what the...
"I said, where did you hear that from? 'From the drivers'. So, you know, I have my conflicts with Mohammed ... I disagree with many of the other things that he came up with. But on that one, I think, you know ... it's pretty rude.
"For me, I'd be happy to sanction that even more."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
