LONDON (The Thursday Times) — The Daily Mail says it will not cover the last three Formula One races of the season after the FIA, the sport’s governing body, revoked the press pass of its veteran correspondent Jonathan McEvoy over a column criticising Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
McEvoy, the British newspaper’s F1 correspondent for more than two decades, has been barred from the Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. His accreditation is due to be restored at the start of the 2027 season.
The ban followed a column McEvoy wrote after Leclerc’s first-lap clash with his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand Prix, in which he called Leclerc a “sneaky little b******”. He has since described the piece as a light-hearted, “half-humorous column taking Hamilton’s side”.
McEvoy was told of the decision on Thursday in a letter from FIA official Alberto Villarreal, which said: “The FIA believes that your article does not meet the professional standards expected of media representatives accredited to cover the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.”
An FIA spokesperson said that under the championship’s 2026 guidelines, media accreditation was granted “at the sole discretion of the FIA and may be revoked at any time without notice”, and that “the highest standards of fairness and professionalism are expected as a minimum requirement”.
Chris Dean, the newspaper’s head of sport, called the ban “an unprecedented and outrageous attack on the freedom of the press.” He added: “We are in dangerous territory when the FIA reacts in such a heavy-handed way to some mild and fair criticism of one driver.” The paper says it will not report on races or press conferences during the final three rounds.
In a follow-up column, McEvoy blamed Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, accusing him of “grassing” on him to the FIA and calling him a “tubby little nobody”. Accreditation decisions rest with the FIA, and no evidence has been made public that Ferrari asked for the ban.
Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, 96, criticised the decision. “I don’t know why the FIA would ever do that,” he said. “I think it’s completely mad.”
It is the second row over the treatment of journalists in F1 this season. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen refused to take part in a news conference while British journalist Giles Richards was in the room, over a dispute dating back to the end of 2025.
Hamilton and Leclerc have said their Mexico City dispute is settled after clear-the-air talks with Vasseur before the Brazilian Grand Prix. The season resumes next week in Las Vegas, with Mercedes having already won both titles.
