Swearing, making political statements and criticising the FIA are among the acts that can land Formula 1 drivers a points deduction under new guidelines.
Ahead of the 2025 season the FIA, F1’s governing body, has made changes to its International Sporting Code (ISC). And among them is Appendix B which used to be the ‘code for good conduct’ but which now serves as a punishment guideline for stewards in relation to certain offences under Article 12.2.1 of the ISC.
It applies to all FIA licence holders which means drivers and team principals are all bound by the regulations. The first, under subsection ‘F’, states that “any words, deeds or writings that cause moral injury or loss to the FIA… and more generally on the interest of motorsport” is deemed an offence.
The punishment for an drivers across all FIA-sanctioned series breaking that worryingly vague rule is an £8.5k fine for a first offence, £16.9k for the second and £25.4k for the third. But those figures are all quadrupled for those involved in F1, meaning a whopping fine of more than £100k for someone in the sport who breaks that rule three times within a two-year period.
To increase the jeopardy, there are also sporting punishments in play. A second offence prompts a suspended one-month suspension, which is enforced upon the third rule break alongside the docking of an unspecified number of World Championship points from the guilty party.
The same punishments are also applied to infringements under subsections ‘L’ and ‘N’, which refer to ‘misconduct’ and ‘public incitement of violence or hatred’ respectively. Article 20 of the ISC defines the former as “the general use of language, gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive”, It also includes “assaulting” someone or “incitement to do any of the above”.
Swearing would fall under that umbrella and so these are now the punishments that would be levied on Max Verstappen should he repeat his F-bomb in a press conference last year which landed him with a community service-style punishment and sparked a war between the Red Bull racer and the FIA.
Subsection ‘O’ specifies that “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principal of neutrality promoted by the FIA… unless previously approved” will also land a similar punishment, with the added requirement for the guilty party to apologise for and backtrack on their actions in public.
F1 drivers, who have already voiced their dissatisfaction with FIA leadership under president Mohammed ben Sulayem in recent months, are likely to be unhappy with these latest changes made. Sources told BBC Sport that many within the FIA feel the same way, and that the ISC changes were made after “a snap e-vote and with no consultation” with drivers.
Last November the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, of which Mercedes driver George Russell is a director, wrote an open letter to the FIA in which it implied that drivers felt they were being treated like children by the governing body and called for greater communication when it comes to key decisions over the sport’s future. To date, the letter has received no response.
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