Rally Estonia leader Oliver Solberg hit with suspended €2,000 fine for swearing

Stewards hit Oliver Solberg with the suspended fine after he used inappropriate language in a fan interview session

The FIA handed Rally Estonia leader Oliver Solberg a reprimand and a €2,000 suspended fine for swearing during a fan interview session at the World Rally Championship event.

Solberg used the phrase “f***ing win” on stage in front of fans in the service park on Friday night. It came after the Toyota driver's best day of his WRC career, which saw him claim his maiden top flight stage wins and the rally lead.

The incident occurred in the ‘Meet The Crews’ session, which is defined as a ‘controlled zone’ for drivers in regard to punishment for using inappropriate language, given that the interviews take place where adrenaline levels should be lower. In contrast, stage end interviews are deemed as an ‘uncontrolled zone’ by motorsport’s governing body.

“Both driver and competitor’s representative immediately admitted that the use of this word was inappropriate in this environment and apologised for this lapse. The driver further stated that he did not mean to offend or hurt anyone by using this word,” read an FIA stewards report that was issued on Saturday morning.

“The stewards recognise that the word in question has become colloquial and is often used as an expression of emotion, particularly by the younger generation, but at the same time emphasise that the FIA remains committed to ensuring that inappropriate language is not used in any controlled area such as media conferences, during interviews and at the ceremonial start.”

Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The stewards took into consideration that this was Solberg’s first offence, English is not the driver’s native language, and that the phrase was not intended to cause any offence.

The fine for using inappropriate language is the first since revised rules were put in place after WRC drivers urged for changes to the FIA’s clampdown on swearing fines.

The call for change came after Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was fined €10,000 (with a further €20,000 of that suspended) for swearing in stage end interview in Sweden. Fourmaux’s sanction in February prompted the WRC drivers to form a World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA).