Formula 1 drivers ask FIA to treat them like adults

Formula 1 drivers have urged the sport's governing body to treat them like adults after Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were punished for swearing.

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The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) has also criticised FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for his "tone and language" when addressing the topic.

An open letter from the GPDA said: "There is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or a driving situation.

"We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise.

"Further, our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants."

The letter has been in the offing since Ben Sulayem used an interview with Autosport before the Singapore Grand Prix in September to express his distaste for the broadcast of swearing during grands prix.