F1 News: Oscar Piastri Makes Hilarious Dig Against FIA in Singapore Cooldown Room

Alex Harrington | Sep 22, 2024

Second placed qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing, pole position qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and third placed qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren react in parc ferme after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on August 24, 2024 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. / Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Oscar Piastri, the young Australian McLaren driver, seized the moment in the cooldown room to make a witty comment that playfully jabbed at the drama happening between the FIA and Max Verstappen right now after the driver was given "public service work" after swearing.

Piastri's teammate, race winner Lando Norris, had an intense moment during his Singapore campaign which saw him brush against the TECPRO barrier, risking his lead. The incident was met with immediate reactions from other drivers in the cooldown room. Verstappen was taken aback: "No way!" eh said. Piastri then chimed in with a tongue-in-cheek comment to his tammate:

"Without using swear words, how did you feel at that moment?" he asked, referencing his penalty.

Ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, Verstappen had been penalized for using inappropriate language during a press conference, which the FIA seemingly deemed unacceptable. As a result, he was ordered to perform public service work, a decision he openly criticized.

"I find it, of course, ridiculous what happens. So why should I then give full answers?" Verstappen said following his qualifying session. "It's very easily, apparently you get a fine, or you get some sort of penalties.

 "I prefer then not to speak a lot, save my voice and I mean, we can do the interviews also somewhere else, if you need some answers to the questions asked."

He continued:

"They want to set the precedent, and people got warnings or a little fine.

"Now with me, they wanted to set an even bigger example, I guess. Which for me is a bit weird, of course.

"I didn't swear at anyone particularly, I just said one thing about my car. But it's in the code, so they have to follow the book."

Norris described the punishment as "pretty unfair," and Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, expressed his view by calling it "a bit of a joke." Hamilton elaborated: "Mistakes are made. I certainly won't be doing it, and I hope Max doesn't."

In defense of the strict measures, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem commented on the ruling, in a way that developed its own controversy:

“We have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. We're not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that.

“At the end of the day, we have to study that to see: do we minimise what is being said publicly? Imagine you are sitting with your children and watching the race and then someone is saying all of this dirty language."

2024 Singapore Grand Prix Results

1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Nico Hulkenberg
10. Sergio Perez
11. Franco Colapinto
12. Yuki Tsunoda
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Lance Stroll
15. Zhou Guanyu
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Pierre Gasly
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Fastest Lap
19. Kevin Magnussen - DNF
20. Alex Albon - DNF