- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases, 49 homers
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
- Head's 'good night at office' after century seals win over England
- Dubois seeks legitimacy with Joshua scalp
- Rate cut could lift consumer spirits before US elections
- Last-gasp Gimenez strike sends Atletico past Leipzig
- Barca stumble at Monaco after early red card
- Raya heroics save Arsenal in Champions League opener at Atalanta
- Cathay Airbus engine fire linked to cleaning: EU regulator
- Guardians beat Twins to secure MLB playoff berth
- Jihadist attack in Mali capital killed more than 70: security sources
- Alonso hails 'efficient' Leverkusen after Feyenoord rout
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI
- Ex-Man United striker Anthony Martial joins AEK Athens
- NFL unbeatens meet as Texans visit Vikings, Steelers host Chargers
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI after Labuschagne strikes
- Dream debut for Wirtz as Leverkusen thump dire Feyenoord
- Myanmar flood death toll climbs to 293: state media
- Israel army says West Bank air strike kills 4 militants
- LIV golfers get green light for US Ryder Cup team, PGA Championship
- US accuses social media giants of 'vast surveillance'
- Ten Hag to bed Hojlund, Mount in carefully when they return for Man Utd
- Breaking bad as McIlroy endures 'weird' day
- EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods
- Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
- New study reinforces theory Covid emerged at Chinese market
- World Bank boosts climate financing by 10 percent
- Bagnaia eyeing summit on home ground in 100th MotoGP
- 'Something was wrong', defendant in French mass rape tells court
- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
- Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
- Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
- Labuschagne sparks Australia fightback in England ODI opener
- S.Africa's HIV research power couple says fight goes on
- Why is Israel focusing on border with Lebanon?
- Mpox vaccines administered in Rwanda, first in Africa
- US Fed rate cut is 'very positive sign' for economy: Yellen
- Unknown Mozart string trio discovered in Germany
- 'Are we five-year-olds?' F1 drivers won't mind their language
- Brazil judge orders X to reimpose block or face hefty fine
- Munich to rename stadium street after Beckenbauer
- Champions Italy to face Argentina in Davis Cup Final 8
- The winding, fitful path to weight loss drug Ozempic
- Italians defeat American Magic to reach Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Norris has 'nothing to lose' as he hunts Verstappen in Singapore
- Kyiv 'outraged' at Swiss showing of Russian war film
- French city renames Abbe Pierre square after abuse claims
- Footballer charged after huge cannabis seizure at UK airport
- Vatican recognises Medjugorje shrine, but not Virgin's messages
'Are we five-year-olds?' F1 drivers won't mind their language
Leading Formula One drivers at this week's Singapore Grand Prix said Thursday they would not tone down their language on team radio, after the governing body FIA warned they should cut out the swearing.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told Autosport.com in an interview that he had asked Formula One Management to minimise the amount of foul language being broadcast on television.
Ben Sulayem said that motorsport was not "rap music" and drivers should mind their language, especially as children might be watching.
But world champion Max Verstappen, who is no stranger to a fruity outburst, told reporters that if the FIA did not like what drivers say in the heat of a race, then the solution is to simply not broadcast it.
"What are we? Five-year-olds? Six-year-olds?" the Red Bull driver said.
"Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching, they will eventually swear anyway when they grow up."
Swearing on F1 team radio is already bleeped out before being broadcast on a delayed feed, but Ben Sulayem wants to cut down on the amount of censoring needed.
"We have to differentiate between our sport -- motorsport -– and rap music," Ben Sulayem said.
"We're not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute?"
"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," Ben Sulayem told the motorsport news website.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said he had no problem with trying to clean up the language in Formula One.
"I'm sure if you say there are penalties for it, people will stop (swearing)," Hamilton told reporters in Singapore.
"I don't know whether that is needed, but I definitely think there is a little bit too much."
But Hamilton did not like Ben Sulayem's comparison with rap music.
"I don't like how he's expressed it, saying 'rappers' is very stereotypical. And most rappers are black," said Hamilton.
"That was the wrong choice of words. There's a racial element there."
Lando Norris agreed with Verstappen, adding that F1 "can just not play the radios."
"We're the guys in the heat of the moment... So it's a lot easier for them to say than for us to do," the McLaren driver said.
"We're just putting our passion into it. You're listening to the rawness of drivers and their thoughts and their feelings.
"When I listen to it, I find it cool and I find it exciting."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said foul language happened in lots of other sports, but F1 was unique in that drivers had microphones attached to them.
"I think there are other priorities for the FIA at the moment," Leclerc said.
"I would return the favour to the FIA and ask them to take off some of our bad words and not broadcast as much. And it's quite easy to do.
"For us to control our words when you are driving a car at 300 kilometres per hour in between walls is tricky," he added.
"And we are humans after all."
P.Silva--AMWN