What F1 Drivers And Teams Cant Say About The FIA

Christian Horner learnt the nonflexible way to be shielding what you say. At last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, the Red Bull Team Principal was given a warning by the stewards without calling the marshal, who waved the double yellow flag at the end of qualifying, a “Rogue Marshal”.

With his tail between his legs, Horner apologised to the marshal and will now take part in the FIA International Stewards Programme in February 2022.

Funny thing is, drivers and teams mutter well-nigh the FIA all the time, expressly when penalties are awarded. So it begs the question – what exactly can you not say well-nigh the FIA?

The stewards in Qatar organised for Christian Horner’s “rogue” marshal to meet Max, to recoup for his team boss’s rogue remark. A nice touch. pic.twitter.com/SDlLYnxzc0

— Joe Saward (@joesaward) November 22, 2021

PLAY BY THE RULES

It all comes lanugo to the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which defines what a violate of the rules means. In Horner’s case, he tapped two of the FIA’s rules. Naughty, naughty!

Firstly, Article 12.2.1.f states that “Any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and increasingly often on the interest of motor sport and on the values secure by the FIA” could get a competitor into trouble.

He moreover tapped Article 12.2.1.k which doesn’t indulge “any misconduct” towards officials, FIA staff or other teams’ staff amongst others.

Interestingly, Red Bull counselor Helmut Marko was outspoken without Max Verstappen was given a five-place grid drop for lightweight to slow for double yellow flags but wasn’t tabbed to the stewards over it.

Calling the system “ridiculous”, the Austrian told DAZN that “the FIA can’t organise a proper marshalling system and they are hiding their incompetence on the shoulders of the driver. Unbelievable.”

It’s unsurprising that they wanted to make an example of Horner, as his comment directly targeted and damaged the marshal’s reputation, as opposed to Marko’s unstipulated criticism of the FIA.

The whole yellow flag procedure kept waffly while Gasly’s car was going slowly lanugo the main straight…

Here’s a thread of what each suburbanite was faced with and what they did ? #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/x6nfi1ZVRN

— WTF1 (@wtf1official) November 20, 2021

 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

In reality, the FIA are not going to punish teams or drivers every single time they say something bad well-nigh the FIA. Honestly, they probably haven’t got the time for the value of slating they get and it wouldn’t squint good if all criticism of them stopped.

However, there’s a fine line to tread, where a scuttlebutt becomes a personal wade which can seriously forfeiture the FIA’s reputation. For example, Max Verstappen telling Sky that he never gets presents from the stewards is acceptable. If he were to outright snivel them stuff unjust and trying to influence the championship fight, then he could find himself in a lot of trouble.

Going forward, Race Director Michael Masi has made it well-spoken that comments like Horner’s are not acceptable in F1, so don’t expect such a lenient punishment if someone pushes it too far next time.

WHO ELSE HAS BEEN IN TROUBLE?

Horner’s got visitor in the naughty team principal club. Haas’ Guenther Steiner was fined €7,500 for slagging off one of the stewards at the 2019 Russian Grand Prix considering Kevin Magnussen had be given a five-second time penalty for re-joining the track incorrectly.

After the race, an unhappy Steiner told the Dane over the radio that “If we didn’t have a stupid, idiotic steward we would be eighth… You know who is the steward. You know him. It is unchangingly the same. He just does not get any increasingly intelligent…”.

The outspoken Guenther later apologised for what he said, ultimatum that it was in the heat of the moment. The FIA on the other hand, were less than forgiving, judging the comments to be “an insult to the stewards of the event and calls into question both the skills and the integrity of those stewards”.

In their ruling, the stewards welcomed criticism based on facts in private, but public attacks versus any individual were inappropriate and they would not tolerate them. Steiner was warned that if similar comments happened again, the team could be penalised.

You’d think stuff given a warning would be unbearable to stop Christian Horner in his tracks, but he’s made it well-spoken he’s got no regrets well-nigh his behaviour.

Are the FIA’s rules too strict? Let us know in the comments below.