Former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner has suggested the FIA were wrong to impose a swearing ban on drivers across motorsport.

The ex-Haas team principal grew famous for his sweary rants on the Netflix docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’ and predictably, the Italian-Austrian doesn’t think the issue is big enough to justify a blanket ban.

“I think it’s a too big thing made out of what it is,” he said during the Adelaide Motorsport Festival. “I think it’s a too big thing made out of what it is. Is swearing good? Maybe not. Is swearing bad? Maybe not. It depends all on the circumstances it’s done.

He added: “In any sport, especially in motor racing, adrenalin is high. You’re going high speeds and if somebody cuts you off, if you tell him to ‘go in the place’, it’s pretty OK to say it.

“Because, do you want [them] to say, politely, ‘hey, can you please do this different next time?’ You’re not going to say that one. I think it could have been managed a lot better, not giving big fines. I’m not saying everybody should swear like sailors, basically, but now everyone speaks about it.

“If it’d been handled differently, like sitting the drivers down and saying, ‘hey guys, turn it down a notch here’, it would be cool, everyone would be happy. I think sports live from emotion and sometimes the odd ‘f-word’, it is emotion.”