FIA Bans F1 Journalist for Calling Driver ‘A Sneaky Little B*****d’
The journalist said he will be reinstated next year.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of Formula One, has banned Daily Mail motor racing writer Jonathan McEvoy from covering the 2026 season. This decision came after McEvoy published a critical column on November 4, 2025, where he referred to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc as "a sneaky little b*****d" in the headline.
The FIA cited the article as not meeting the required standards of professionalism and revoked his accreditation. The Daily Mail's head of sport, Chris Dean, criticized the FIA's decision as an "unprecedented and outrageous attack on the freedom of the press" and urged the FIA to reinstate McEvoy immediately. McEvoy had criticized Leclerc after an incident during the Mexico Grand Prix where Leclerc and teammate Lewis Hamilton collided, allowing Red Bull's Max Verstappen to gain a crucial lead.
McEvoy claimed that his ban was likely due to pressure from Ferrari team president Fred Vasseur, whom he mocked as a "tubby little nobody." Despite the ban, McEvoy expressed hope that his accreditation would be reinstated in 2027, as the FIA stated that his ban only affected him personally and not the entire publication. The 2026 Formula One season had three remaining races scheduled: Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
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