F1 fans deliver FIA judgement after Verstappen-Leclerc F-bomb furore

The FIA has been accused of over-reacting following the use of the f-word by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in recent official press conferences.

The Red Bull and Ferrari drivers were handed different punishments by motorsport's governing body, which raised eyebrows as the FIA took it upon itself to differentiate the use of profanity.

Verstappen was issued a community service punishment for using the f-word in the FIA drivers' press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

It was felt at the time the FIA was making an example of the three-time F1 champion on the day when president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had called for drivers to be more mindful of the language used.

Verstappen's penalty resulted in a boycott of the following FIA press conferences that weekend in Singapore from the Dutchman, who instead conducted separate media briefings.

Leclerc, meanwhile, received a €10,000 fine - €5,000 suspended for 12 months - after swearing during an FIA press conference following the Mexico City GP.

The FIA determined that the different punishment for Leclerc was because he was asked a leading question in being asked to give his thoughts about a hair-raising situation on track for the Monégasque. Leclerc immediately apologised, Verstappen did not.

We asked whether the FIA was right to hand out different punishments, and exactly 50%, following another strong turnout in voting, said neither should have received a penalty.

Just over 31% felt the FIA had set a precedent, and on that basis, Leclerc should have been treated as equally as Verstappen.

The remainder, just under 19%, believed the situations to be different, and the two drivers deserved contrasting penalties.