Verstappen did not curse when notified of penalty, but was still censored

Upon being notified of the 5 second time penalty by engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's response was censored. A mistake by FOM, or something more?

It was assumed that the Red Bull Racing driver said ‘f***ing lovely’, but onboard footage – and the complete, uncensored radio communication that came with it – reveals that he did not swear at all.

Verstappen is known for his colorful remarks on the team radio, but during the Formula 1 race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the Formula 1 Management (FOM) appears to have intervened quickly, perhaps prompted to do so by the recently updated -and stricter- FIA guidelines.

Verstappen's censorship by F1, needless after all

At the start of the race, Verstappen and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri went into the first corner side by side, however, the Dutchman took to the run off as the Australian had made his MCL39 as wide as possible on corner exit. As Piastri rounded negotiated the second corner, Verstappen rejoined the track in the lead, which neither Red Bull nor the driver saw the need to relinquish.

The Stewards then handed Verstappen a 5 second time penalty for, in their judgement, leaving the track and gaining an advantage. When Verstappen was informed of this by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, a word was beeped out in the replay of that radio message.

As a result, it was assumed that he said "f******", but that was not the case. In the uncensored radio communication, it's heard that Verstappen said: “Well, that’s bloody lovely.”

With this, the four-time world champion sarcastically referred to his own frequently used phrase: “Simply lovely.” However, it's clear that Verstappen was careful, even in his radio communication to the pit wall.

This was also evident from the response of Lambiase, who tried to prevent Verstappen from saying something that could cost him dearly. “No comment, please, Max,” said his cautious race engineer.

After the F1 race in Jeddah, the media only seemed to ask Verstappen about the incident and the subsequent penalty, however the Red Bull driver refused to comment, since, according to him, it would only get him in trouble.

This remark was aimed at the updated Driver Guidelines issues this year by the FIA. The Dutchman also conveyed his displeasure at how criticising the governing body was now off limits.

When GPblog reached out for clarification, a FOM spokesperson said it was standard protocol to censor all words that could be deem offensive or otherwise.

Max Verstappen did not swear but was still censored during the F1 race in Jeddah.