Days later while facing the media after qualifying, he refused to answer any questions sent his way in a proper manner, protesting what he felt was an unfair punishment.
Verstappen completed his service in the public interest while he was in Rwanda for the FIA’s prize-giving ceremony after the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The Red Bull driver had to undertake some work with junior competitors at a grassroots development programme for his language.
Guenther Steiner agreed with Verstappen in the swearing row, believing that the Dutchman had a right to freedom of speech.
It’s behind him for now and he will chase a fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship in 2025, but has the row had a lasting effect on his rivals?
The danger created by restricting drivers who want to express themselves is that they may come across as very dry to the fans.
The way that drivers interact with the media is completely different to how it was even 20 years ago when there was far less coverage of the sport.
The FIA threatened Verstappen in the event he refused to serve his penalty, warning him of a stronger punishment before he agreed to complete it.
Ex-Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley believes drivers are too far removed from their real personalities and that it’s something the sport misses.
“We’ve lost the honesty, yeah. I think when you look at back in the day, you would watch an interview of the driver and that would be the person that you would’ve sat in a restaurant with the night before.
“I think now when you watch the drivers being interviewed, it’s sometimes far removed from their real personality. I think we miss that a little bit.”
All 10 teams are very aware of the media and have trained their drivers not to give too much information away in interviews.
It’s in the name of competition, but the people who miss out the most are the fans who are left to read through dry responses from their favourite drivers.
A swearing ban takes further emotion out of their answers, but there may be one thing that could open drivers up again.
The 2026 F1 regulations will see the field open up and change the landscape of the sport for the next few years.
With competition not as tight, and more interpretation between competitors, teams and drivers may feel more inclined to share their woes.
No one can force them to speak their minds, so fans may just have to hope that the new regulations help to bring one aspect of the sport back that was once loved.
