George Russell could become the first F1 driver to receive a fine under the new FIA swearing regulations after a slip of the tongue during an interview on day one of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The Mercedes driver spoke to Viaplay about the power cut that disrupted proceedings during the afternoon session at the Sakhir International Circuit. “Oh s**t, there’s no lights on,” he said.

Russell’s swearing could land him a fine of £33,800 (€40,000), should the Brit be deemed to have ’caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA’.

The aforementioned fine is only the punishment for a first offence, with the financial penalty scaling to £101,400 (€120,000) after the third instance. From there, drivers face championship points deductions and even a one-month suspension from racing.

The FIA implemented the controversial new rule as part of Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s clampdown on driver swearing. The president has regularly stated that F1 drivers are responsible for being role models as the sport’s audience continues to skew towards a younger demographic.

Ben Sulayem’s argument sparked outrage among F1 drivers, with Max Verstappen, Alex Albon and Russell himself among the stars to call out the decision to introduce fines for swearing ahead of the F1 75 Live event in London.

Speaking to select media, including Express Sport, reigning world champion Verstappen fumed: “Honestly, I don’t even need to say too much right, because I think if you just look at everyone’s reaction to it, I think that says enough.

“Of course, I understand that you cannot always swear wherever you go, right? I think we all understand that as racing drivers. But sometimes, in the heat of the moment or when you get interviewed when you’re in your car, and you’ve just had an adrenaline rush or whatever, sometimes things slip out a little bit.

“Plus, I think we all grew up, probably most people grew up in school, playing football or sports in general, it happens that you use a swear word, and I think we shouldn’t take it so serious, you know.

“Plus, I’m also not going to tell you how you should behave in life, I guess. That’s pretty much all I can say about it, but we have to deal with it at the moment – it has been written.”