SAKHIR, Bahrain — Williams Formula One driver Carlos Sainz will escape action from the FIA stewards after swearing in a news conference on Thursday in Bahrain, having expressed regret over his actions.
Last year, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc both faced sanctions from the FIA stewards after swearing in news conferences amid a clampdown by F1’s governing body on bad language, with new “misconduct” guidelines coming into force for this year.
Sainz was fined €10,000 for being late for the national anthem on the grid ahead of last Sunday’s race in Japan, which he told the stewards was due to a stomach issue.
Speaking about the matter on Thursday in the FIA news conference, Sainz explained that he was only five seconds late for the anthem and said: “I don’t know if I’m going to get another fine for saying this, but s*** happens.”
The language put Sainz at risk of action from the FIA under its misconduct guidelines, which have a range of potential sanctions for repeat offences including fines, points deductions and race bans.
But an FIA spokesperson has confirmed to The Athletic that Sainz will not face any action from the stewards.
Sainz was spoken to by the FIA’s media delegate over his language on Friday morning in Bahrain ahead of opening practice at the Sakhir circuit. He apologized and expressed regrets over his language, and promised to make amends for his actions.
As a result of the talks, Sainz will not be reported to the stewards, meaning there will be no action taken against him over his language as there was against both Verstappen and Leclerc.
Last year, Verstappen was ordered by the FIA to complete community service after describing his car in a news conference as being “a bit f*****” ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, with the sanction prompting the Red Bull driver to then refuse to elaborate on his answers in the official news conferences for the rest of the race weekend.
Verstappen said the sanction was “ridiculous” at the time, but ultimately completed the community service by taking part in a grassroots motorsport event in Rwanda ahead of the FIA prize giving in December.
At October’s Mexico City Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Leclerc used the word “f***” in the FIA news conference when describing a moment where he nearly crashed in the race. He immediately realised his mistake, saying: “I don’t want to join Max!”
The stewards still looked dimly on the matter despite noting his contrition, fining him €10,000 with €5,000 being suspended for 12 months.
(Clive Rose/Getty Images)