Formula One driver Charles Leclerc has been fined by the FIA for using explicit language during a recent post-race press conference. The fine totals 10,000 euros, with half suspended on the condition that Leclerc avoids similar breaches for the next 12 months.
The incident occurred after Leclerc’s third-place finish in the Mexico City Grand Prix. When asked about his close save to avoid a collision with McLaren’s Lando Norris near the final turn, Leclerc described the moment, inadvertently using language that led to the penalty.
I lost the rear, and then you forget about Lando and you just hope that you are going to take it back. I had one oversteer, and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘F—.’”
He looked set to continue with his answer, but when he looked to his right, his eyes got big when he realized what he’d done. Leclerc said, “Oh, sorry! Oh, no, oh no! I don’t want to join Max!” Carlos Sainz responded, “You have your wallet here?”
Leclerc being spoken to by an FIA official after dropping an F-bomb in the post-race presser.
— Nate Saunders (@natesaundersF1) October 27, 2024
After doing it Leclerc immediately laughed and said: “Oh no, I don’t want to join Max!”
Max got community service for swearing during an FIA presser in Singapore. pic.twitter.com/r9i84VEq4F
MEarlier this season, Max Verstappen received a different sanction from the FIA for using an expletive to describe his car setup in Azerbaijan during a press conference. He was assigned a community service task, leading him to give brief responses at subsequent press conferences and express his preference for speaking with journalists privately. Both Verstappen’s and Leclerc’s instances were deemed violations of Article 12.2.1.k, which requires appropriate language in public forums, especially from F1 drivers as “role models.” Leclerc’s immediate apology was noted as a mitigating factor in his case.
“I mean, apparently, it only counts for me anyway because after the race in Mexico, someone was swearing. I didn’t hear anything from it, so it’s better I don’t swear again.”
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
