Formula One drivers have banded together to demand that the FIA ​​treat them like adults – and have found support from the most unlikely of sources.

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), which represents F1 stars, has further escalated a row over bad language that has festered for months.

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British motorsport legend Johnny Herbert was one of four FIA stewards on duty at the Singapore Grand Prix in September.

As a result, Herbert, who replaced Jos Verstappen as Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton, helped deliver a ruling in a case involving his son max.

Verstappen, three-time world champion was caught using bad words when describing Red Bull’s performance after the Azerbaijan GP.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, ordered him to carry out ‘work of public interest’ – a punishment beaten by other F1 drivers.

Verstappen, who was also fined, was fined 40,000 euros ($44,556, £33,000) in retaliation for offering only basic answers at his next press conference.

he then held an impromptu, non-televised question-and-answer session with F1 journalists outside in the paddock so that only the FIA, which had conveyed his one-word answershe would feel the effects of his vow of silence.

However, he failed to stop the FIA ​​from punishing Charles Leclerc for accidentally swearing at a press conference last week.

The Ferrari driver was fined 10,000 euros (£8,420), half of which will be suspended for good behavior for the next 12 months.

The GPDA, which represents VerstappenLeclerc, Lando Norrisand the rest have now issued a united statement against the treatment.

A letter signed by F1 drivers also criticized FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for his “tone and language” in addressing the issue.

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It said: “There is a difference between saying bad words with the intention of insulting others and saying more informal bad words, such as those that might be used to describe bad weather, or even an inanimate object like an F1 car, or a situation driving.

“We urge the FIA ​​President to consider his own tone and language when speaking to, or even about, our member drivers, whether in a public forum or otherwise.

“Plus, our members are adults. They don’t need to be instructed by the media on such trivial matters as wearing jewelry or underpants.”

This last reference is to the period of a jewelry ban which had Lewis Hamilton at the center of the debate.

The seven-time world champion had a long-running standoff with the FIA about allowing wedding rings, but not other types of jewelry, like her iconic nose ring, which eventually, received a medical exemption for.

A new study of Ask the players discovered that F1 drivers have been fined more than £300,000 this season alone after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The drivers have now asked for clarity on how the FIA ​​uses that money, adding: “The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that monetary fines on drivers are not appropriate for our sport.

“For the last three years, we have asked the FIA ​​President to share the details and strategy on how FIA financial fines are allocated and where the funds are spent.

“We have also conveyed our concern about the negative image that financial fines bring to the sport. We once again request that the FIA ​​President provide financial transparency and direct and open dialogue with us. “All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where money is spent for the benefit of our sport.”

The latest debate over profanity, which first arose from a decision led by F1 legend Johnny Herbert.has now elicited a degree of solidarity from the FIA ​​commissioner.

During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com Last month, before the publication of the GPDA letter, Herbert compared Verstappen’s personal FIA protest antics to the great sports figures.

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Herbert told talkSPORT: “Characters are very important in all sports. They are definitely important in Formula One. And I have to say that I think we have a good group, in fact, that has a good sense of humor.

“They seem to be a pretty close-knit group of drivers, which I haven’t seen this close for a long time, to be honest, but I think the rebellious streak has always been part of it.

“When you see Ayrton (Senna) and (former FIA president Jean-Marie) Baleste in the movie ‘Senna’, you see it in the movie once, but it happened every race weekend we had.

“So those characters have always been there. Michael (Schumacher) another character, Mika (Hakkinen) too, Sebastian (Vettel), the list goes on.

“So different types of characters are always an important part. And what we saw with Max is something, I get it.

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“I think this is like anything: could it have been approached in a slightly different way? There’s possibly this code that says, you know, you can’t swear, especially when it comes to that press conference.

“And then, of course, he then did his little (impromptu press conference) which was very classic Max, sort of, you know, countering the FIA ​​itself.

“But that’s good because I think it just adds to and keeps his character alive. I know there was a lot of talk about, well, because if we stop drivers from saying what they think, they can turn into robots, and when you do an interview, they won’t be able to talk. But I think that’s totally true.

“I don’t think you know, every time I watch the press conferences, how many, how many swear at that press conference, that it spans all over the world with all the different age groups participating, and it’s something that everyone is into. very conscious. of what those words mean.”

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In July, F1 team bosses were instructed to tell their drivers to stop swearing over the radio after Verstappen’s X outburst to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, Herbert told talkSPORT: “You can’t stop in a car.

“I’ve sworn that when I’m in a car, talking on the radio, talking to my engineer, whatever, that’s the passion that explodes when you’re in the car when things aren’t quite working.

“We can’t stop that, we don’t want to stop it and we shouldn’t stop it. But I think what we saw with the drivers again, coming together. I think it was a good thing.

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“And I think it’s something that just attracts the interest of everyone, of the different generations that we have, of the young generation that is arriving. And it’s good.

“I have to say that Max is tremendously exciting when he is on the track. I really enjoy watching him when he drives.

“But there are those little things like that, what happened in Singapore, which is something that sometimes you want to see a little less, but we want to see it when they’re in the car.”

This interview with Johnny Herbert was conducted through Genting Casino, where fans have the chance to win a VIP experience for the Abu Dhabi GP. Please Click here for more details.