The world of Formula 1 was once again shocked by an unexpected event that spread on social networks in a matter of minutes. According to several international sports media, the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has sent a striking message to Max Verstappen, composed of exactly fifteen words. Its content was not officially released immediately, but the tone of the report made it clear that it was a message with a strong emotional and symbolic charge, aimed at the current tensions in sport.
The controversy around Verstappen has grown in recent weeks due to discussions about punishments, media manipulation and alleged unequal treatment within the paddock. Verstappen has previously indicated that he sometimes feels “more judged than protected” by the bodies that oversee the sport. Precisely for this reason, Ben Sulayem’s message provoked a storm of interpretations: was it a warning? A call for calm? Or maybe even a gesture of respect?
According to sources close to the FIA, Ben Sulayem’s message would have emphasizedThe importance of mutual trust and sporting integrity., with words intended to stabilize the relationship between driver and board. The phraseological structure that most circulated among journalists was:
“We must not lose each other in the storm, but carry each other in its speed.”
However, it has not yet been confirmed whether this was the exact wording.
However, what was most discussed was Verstappen’s response: just three words.
According to several media, the Dutch driver responded with:
“We’ll see.”
These three words were anything but a coincidence. They were described as cool, collected and perhaps cautiously distant. Verstappen is known for his directness and his ability not to hide his emotions, but here he opted for a response that sounded both open and closed, as if he recognized the meaning of the message but did not yet want to engage with its implications.
Within minutes, the Internet went crazy. Fans, analysts and journalists began to speculate about what this brief exchange really meant. Some fans saw it as a sign of mutual respect between two strong sports figures. Others believed Verstappen wanted to indicate that words alone are not enough: he wants to see changes in decisions, procedures and transparency.
Thousands of comments appeared on forums and social platforms:
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“Max still doesn’t blindly accept anything. He’s still a fighter.”
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“This sounds like diplomacy on the edge.”
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“If the FIA tries to fix something, this could be a turning point.”
Meanwhile, analysts emphasize that the timing of this exchange is no coincidence. With the next Grand Prix just around the corner, the psychological dynamic between competitiveness and management control is at least as important as the technical set-up of the car. Verstappen is a driver driven by pure rivalry and performance, but he has also shown that external pressure increases rather than weakens his sharpness.
Ben Sulayem himself has stressed in previous interviews that he wants to “stabilize and protect sport against unnecessary polarization.” Verstappen, on the other hand, has said several times that he wants to “keep the sport as it is: raw, honest and based on speed, not politics.”
It remains to be seen whether this exchange is a step towards rapprochement or a harbinger of new tensions. But one thing is certain: the entire F1 world is watching more intensely what will happen in the coming days, especially on the track.
As is often the case in Formula 1, the real answer will not be in the words, but in the lap times.
