FIA talks still pending for Verstappen after swearing scandal

Max Verstappen has admitted that he has not yet spoken to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem following the controversy caused by his swearing incident in Singapore.

George Russell, the senior director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), confirmed that the GPDA stands fully behind the three-time world champion, who was instructed to complete a day of unspecified community service after describing his Red Bull car as "f*cked" during an FIA press conference.

Verstappen's reaction has been to say almost nothing in subsequent FIA media sessions, including this weekend's event in Austin.

"When I was a child, I never saw a Formula 1 press conference and yet I said much worse things at school," Verstappen said to reporters on Friday.

Russell revealed that the GPDA plans to draft a joint letter representing the entire group of Formula 1 drivers.

"It's really silly that it has come to this," the Mercedes driver said. "I hope that maybe next week in Mexico we will be able to speak to the FIA about it.

"We drivers are speaking with one voice and we also want to address the public with a joint letter."

Verstappen, 27, confirmed he has not yet received any communication from the FIA president. "No, nothing," the Dutchman said.

"But I'm open to a conversation. I'm just dealing with other things at the moment. But nothing is changing. I just have to talk less.

"That's fine with me."

Verstappen described the entire incident as "unnecessary."

"Unfortunately, many things in the world are like that these days," Verstappen added. "But in this case it is particularly unnecessary.

"When it comes to being careful about your choice of words, it should actually be more about not offending anyone."

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya thinks the FIA "over-reacted" to what happened in Singapore and should reconsider its actions.

"It's petty as hell," Montoya said. "And what for?

"The way Max handled it, I think it's classic. At the end of day F1 is going to have to tell the FIA to leave him alone, because they need him. At some point, the FIA has to go 'Oh, we screwed up.'"

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