Santino Ferrucci exposes F1's control over its drivers: "They try to make you sign your life away"

F1 and IndyCar have often battled for viewership in the United States, with Santino Ferrucci having a taste of racing in Europe, the 27-year-old revealed how F1 makes you sign a waiver. He joined the open-wheel racing realm in the United States after he ended his FIA F2 campaign prematurely in 2018.

The Woodbury-born driver claimed a podium finish at the Road America Grand Prix and ran out of gasoline as the race came to a halt. With the No. 14 car now out of fuel, Ferrucci jumped out of his car and drank a beer given by a fan to celebrate the occasion:

While such an act is deemed fine in the IndyCar side, if anything similar had happened in the Formula championship series, the consequences could have been far worse. With strict rules to abide by, any driver not following the protocol is heavily penalised.

The Texas resident shared how racing in European races means giving away control of their lives. Moreover, racers don't have the right to express themselves over social media, as they could face major repercussions, which Santino Ferrucci told CT Insider:

"Racing in Europe, they control what you say, how you post. They try to make you sign your life away and they control you and tell you what to do and what not to do. It is very forced. You witness a lot of that in motorsports right now in Formula 1, and it is upsetting they don’t let drivers express their opinions." "In IndyCar, we can say whatever we want. You see articles all the time about things we think are good and things we want to change. They let drivers have personalities. The same with the sponsors. They let us be ourselves, and that is a big part of the sport. It has worked at NASCAR for so long, and I think IndyCar does a really good job with that."

After a dull start to the 2025 IndyCar season, the 27-year-old now sits ninth in the championship standings.

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Santino Ferrucci has been a fierce driver to contend with in IndyCar lately

Santino Ferrucci at the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

The podium at Road America was Santino Ferrucci's second top-three result in the last three races. The AJ Foyt Racing driver has been on a roll as this marked his fifth top-five finish in the last four races overall.

However, his impressive result at Road America was not an easy feat to achieve. Ferrucci had started 18th and was not in contention for a podium. But, several cautions later and electing to opt for a high-risk strategy eventually paid off as he claimed the podium when the clock struck zero.

With this result, the Texas resident now has the upper hand in the intra-team battle as David Malukas sits three spots back in the championship standings.

Edited by Prem Deshpande