\n<\/p>\n
His words are a reference to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who triggered the controversy with an interview in which he said he wanted drivers not to swear in their cars.<\/p>\n
The remarks, to Autosport magazine, related to the use of team radio in television and radio broadcasts. Transmissions are vetted and broadcast on delay and swear words are bleeped out.<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem\u2019s comments annoyed the drivers, and it seems that Verstappen\u2019s animated behaviour in Thursday’s official news conference was at least partly influenced by them.<\/p>\n
He said he had support from his fellow drivers.<\/p>\n
“Of course some speak out more than others,” Verstappen said, “but in general it is quite clear what everyone thinks.”<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem\u2019s comments also seem to mark a retreat from a pledge he made early last year, when he said he would be taking a step back from direct involvement in F1.<\/p>\n
In the interview, Ben Sulayem said that F1 had to “differentiate between our sport\u00a0– motorsport\u00a0– and rap music”, adding: “We’re not rappers, you know. They say the f-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us].”<\/p>\n