FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. [Credits: X/ Ben Sulayem]

“Words Don’t Mean Anything Until the Change is Made!”- FIA President Suffers Backlash from Drivers

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was under fire from F1 drivers.

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. [Credits: X/ Ben Sulayem]

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem brought some insights on his Instagram. In a new post, Ben Sulayem was seen discussing potential rule changes. He was appreciative of the constructive feedback drivers have towards FIA’s new rules.

In case you didn’t know, F1’s parent organisation has a new rule change. This rule prevents drivers from swearing or using any offensive words during a media interview. The new rule found it’s way into the world of Formula 1 well ahead of 2025 F1 season.

None of the drivers particularly like the recent rule changes. They have their reasons to believe that swearing ban is not viable. The drivers can suffer a hefty fine if found under violation. In the recent times, FIA and Formula 1 have become inconsistent with their rules. The penalties imposed during races are many times unfair. The drivers are also discouraged from speaking their mind in public.

These new changes gave way to an unrest among the F1 drivers. In a crucial situation like this, the FIA President chose to intervene.

FIA President Ben Sulayem’s Words Weren’t Received Well

In his Instagram post, the FIA President talked about his own experiences as a former rally driver. He shared that he was in the opinion of bringing significant changes to Appendix B of sporting regulations. In simple terms, Ben Sulayem was trying to indicate an upcoming change.

But, the drivers were already upset due to FIA’s overbearing involvement in their interviews. Max Verstappen was the prime example of this moment. Verstappen straight up refused to answer any question after the Saudi Arabian GP regarding his penalty.

In lieu of Ben Sulayem’s post, Lewis Hamilton was rather calm. He suggested that the driver’s who faced such situations should have a representative in the governing body.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton react to Mohammed Ben Sulayem saying he was considering "improvements" to Appendix B, the part of the FIA regulations which covers stewards' penalty guidelines, setting out punishments for misconduct including words, deeds or writings that might… pic.twitter.com/VwYr6X1pDu
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 1, 2025

His former teammate and GDPA director, George Russell was to the point and completely unimpressed-

“We want to see these things put into action rather than saying we’re considering things. We all consider a lot of things. We’re clear we want changes. So, it’s just the words don’t mean anything until the change is being made.”

As Russell points out, it is unclear if the FIA President was merely rescuing FIA’s image or if he was serious. Either way, the “no-swear” regulations are a childish fantasy imposed on grown men racing against each other and death.

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Formula 1 2025 Season

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.