Marko warns Formula 1 to take Verstappen quit talk seriously

Thus, when Marko says that Verstappen's threat to quit the sport amid his 'swearing' battle with the FIA is a warning that should be taken seriously, he knows what he's talking about.

The whole unnecessary affair has been hotly debated since FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem in an interview announced his contempt for expletive-laden language during official driver commitments.

The "we are not rappers" comment catapulted the headline-hunting FIA chief back into the limelight for all the wrong reasons again.

Verstappen took exception to being singled out during the FIA-hosted press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, in which he used an expletive to describe the state of his Red Bull car. For that remark, he was given a penalty by the FIA-appointed F1 Stewards.

Verstappen is required to do some kind of community service as his 'sentence'. Many might think that the issue is about swearing, but one could argue it is more than that. It's a power struggle, a power trip that Ben Sulayem has been on since he assumed the reigns of F1's governing body in December 2021.

Since then he has picked a fight (and lost most) with just about everyone in the F1 paddock. Now it's a clampdown on language as the Formula 1 season heads off to the United States of America, where swear words were probably invented (certainly perfected through Hollywood and music) and rappers are sure to be VVIPs at COTA and Las Vegas! They have been in the past...

While the spat between Verstappen and the FIA might seem trivial, the question is: When will it stop? Now it's language. Will it be haircuts next? Or clothing? When would it end?

Thus, Marko's warning during an interview with Motorsport-Total is worth noting: "You have to take Max seriously. He has achieved a great deal, but it is important to him that he also enjoys the whole sport.

"If that is increasingly spoilt for him, then he is of the character that when he says, 'OK, that's it,' he means it seriously. I hope that the current situation won't really cause him to retire soon," added Marko.

The Austrian questioned what many do too: why did Guenther Steiner get away with foul language? The former Haas F1 team boss turned himself into a 'brand' thanks to his vulgar and swear-word-packed appearances on Netflix's Drive to Survive,

Marko said of the hypocrisy: "It's hard to understand, and there are double standards. And on top of that, Max didn't insult a person, he meant the car, an object, and he did it in a flippant way.

"Maybe in an afternoon press conference, if it's all going to be handled so strictly, you'll just take a different approach in the future. But it's clearly over the top," reckoned Marko.

After the Singapore Grand Prix, in which Verstappen finished P2, he was hilariously mono-syllabic when answering questions, clearly protesting in the wake of his community service 'punishment'.