The association representing WRC drivers and co-drivers (WoRDA) issued a statement on Monday expressing concerns over the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) strict regulations regarding language and swearing.
In its statement, the association noted that penalties for minor and unintentional slips of language have become disproportionately severe. Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux received a €10,000 fine at the end of rally sweden after using a single swear word in a post-stage interview.
On Monday, WRC stars widely shared the newly established WoRDA’s public statement on social media. Soon after, Toyota’s WRC team also shared a statement from team principal Latvala on the matter.
“As a team we stand behind our drivers and co-drivers to support their interests on this matter,” Latvala said.
“We hope strongly for constructive dialogue between the FIA and WoRDA that can result in a positive solution and an even-better championship.”
As a former top-level driver, Latvala knows well how intense emotions can be at the end of a special stage, where drivers must give live interviews on television. Swearing has been heard from drivers countless times over the years, but rarely with the intent to offend anyone.
Latvala had already shared his views on the FIA’s stricter regulations even before the Fourmaux incident.
“We are the only sport where interviews can be done live, right when emotions are at their peak. That is the beauty of our sport,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com.
“You can’t prepare someone in a way that prevents them from expressing their emotions naturally. You can remind them about it in advance, but you can’t control anyone in that kind of situation,” Latvala asserted.
According to Latvala, drastic changes to current procedures would be necessary if the FIA intends to uphold its policy.
“If that’s what they want, then they simply have to stop live interviews at stage ends. They would have to move them to a road section five minutes later and give the drivers time to calm down,” Latvala stated.
For instance, Kalle Rovanperä has frequently used the English word shit when describing dirt on the road or evaluating his performance.
Latvala does not see such language as a major issue.
“It’s part of life. We all go through difficult moments at times. You have to remember that it’s not intentional swearing – there’s a difference between purposeful cursing and just the way people naturally speak.”
“Usually, when a swear word slips out, it’s because something has gone wrong or a problem has occurred. People need to use common sense in situations like this if a bad word occasionally gets said,” Latvala emphasised.
