Joking that Carlos Sainz’s much-needed bathroom break at Suzuka was a “pretty expensive poo”, George Russell voiced his frustration that the drivers are not being heard.

Following last year’s clampdown on drivers swearing during official FIA events, motorsport’s governing body went a step further in January as they issued a list of punishable offences that came with increasing monetary fines, suspensions and docking of championship points.

A ‘pretty expensive poo’ says George Russell

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

From ‘any words, deeds or writings that cause moral injury or loss to the FIA’ to a broader ‘any misconduct’, the list of offences also includes ‘failure to comply with the instructions of the FIA regarding the appointment and participation of persons during official ceremonies at any competition counting towards a FIA Championship’.

Under the new guidelines, Sainz was slapped with a hefty €30,000 fine, €20,000 suspended, after arriving, as he put it, “five seconds late” for the national anthem ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

As for why he was late, Sainz had a stomach issue that was confirmed by doctors. But it wasn’t enough to quash the penalty entirely.

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The Williams driver joked, “I don’t know if I’m going to get another fine for saying this, but s*** happens – you know, it’s the way it is. It’s the way it goes.”

It had Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman Russell declaring it to be “a pretty expensive poo”.

But jokes aside, the Mercedes driver told the media, including PlanetF1.com, that is “unfortunate” that the FIA won’t listen to the drivers’ concerns about fines such as the one Sainz was slapped with.

“Look,” he added, “we’ve been talking about this on and off for six months now. In all honesty, I don’t even want to give it any more airtime.

“From my own personal perspective, because we’ve sort of said everything we’ve had to say over these months, unfortunately it has had little or no impact. All of the drivers have 100% trust and faith in [CEO] Stefano [Domenicali] and F1.

“We know that they work together with the teams and it’s in all of our interests to make something come of all of this and just see stability and collaboration.

“Moving forward, we just want collaboration. It just doesn’t make any sense to be fighting on these topics. Yeah, that’s what I’m doing.”

“I’ve got to be honest; I totally appreciate that we have a duty to be there for the national anthem,” he added, “but it’s not quite as straightforward as people may think for us to be there on time.

“We’re often running to the toilet and there’s sometimes just no toilets available between the time you jump out the car and go into the anthem and then you get stopped by some people on the grid or people asking for a quick interview.

“So it’s not like we’ve got one sole job and that’s only it. We’re trying to take our moment for the grand prix, and being there on that minute is sometimes not straightforward.

“I appreciate it from F1’s perspective because it’s a very important moment of the race, but also from a driver’s perspective there are hard, genuine logistical issues that sometimes you’re literally waiting to get into a bathroom cubicle.”

As for Sainz, a driver who appreciates punctuality, it was a “sh***y” situation.

“I’m the biggest supporter of punctuality and being in a way a gentleman, being punctual to things, especially a national anthem with all the authorities there,” he said.

“So I was the first one to put my hand up and say, ‘I’m late, sorry for that’. At the same time, I was five seconds late and to be five seconds late, and have to pay €10,000 or whatever the fine is, is for me out of the question that we’re having to pay these fines.

“I don’t know if I’ll get another fine for saying this… but shit happens. I hope someone tells me where this €10,000 goes, and they say, ‘OK at least it goes to a nice cause’, and I’ll be looking forward to see where.”

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