SÃO PAULO: Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has been fined €10,000 (US$10,900) by motorsports ruling body FIA for using “coarse language” during a press conference following the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, reported German news agency (dpa).
The stewards said on Friday that the Ferrari driver was summoned for “coarse language” he used in the press conference after the race, in which he placed third.
The 27-year-old was fined €10,000, half of which suspended for 12 months on condition that there is no further breach.
“It is the policy of the FIA to ensure that language used in its public forums, such as press conferences, meets generally accepted standards for all audiences and broadcasts,“ the stewards said.
The race managers said Leclerc used “coarse language” as he answered “a somewhat leading question asking him ‘what did you say to yourself’ in relation to the significant moment towards the end of the race”.
“In response, Leclerc used coarse language being the accurate recollection of what he thought to himself at the time. Leclerc immediately realised his error and apologised.”
Three-time world champion Max Verstappen in September was sentenced to community service for using the same four-letter expletive.
Leclerc was talking about a sequence in which he had braked too late in the last corner of the race and had to let McLaren’s Lando Norris overtake him.
