What the FIA doesn't want F1 drivers to say

And more thoughts on what "free speech" means in 2025

I had plans to write about something totally different today, but then the FIA did FIA things, and I think it's about time we talk about what it means when powerful organizations (or people) restrict your ability to critique those organizations (or people). So, let's dig in.

To recap: The 2024 Formula 1 season was dotted with controversy sparked by what the drivers perceived to be an over-policing of language. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated that drivers cursing on radios or in press conferences made them come across like “rappers” and not racing drivers. The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) took exception to the belief that they should watch their language on the radio during a race; F1 is a tense and challenging sport, so it's natural that frustration manifests in a choice word or two.

The FIA didn't like that, but it couldn't do much about a driver cursing in a communication with his race engineer. Instead, it banned cursing from any official FIA press conference — a mandate that reigning champion Max Verstappen broke almost instantly, if unintentionally. He was subjected to community service as punishment and retained an ongoing reticence in press conferences throughout the year. (Critically, Charles Leclerc was also punished for swearing in a press conference, but because he apologized, he was only fined.)

Now, the FIA just released a new slate of rules policing the language of drivers further in 2025 — and it goes much further than just offering punishments for a curse word or two.