F1 drivers who swear could be fined up to €80,000 and lose points, say new FIA guidelines
An updated to the FIA Sporting Code reveals stricter sanctions against Formula 1 drivers using salty language, and other actions
Jan 22, 2025, 10:47 PM
The FIA has issued a series of stewards' penalty guidelines that could result in Formula 1 drivers collecting fines or championship points penalties for swearing or other sporting code violations. These are an extension of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem's contentious call last season for F1 drivers to limit their use of profanity.
The FIA released an updated version of its sporting code on Wednesday with a guidelines for infractions committed under Article 12, particularly with regards to misconduct.
The governing body defines misconduct as "the general use of language (written or verbal), gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive and might reasonably be expected or be perceived to be coarse or rude or to cause offense, humiliation or to be inappropriate", "assaulting (elbowing, kicking, punching, hitting, etc.)", and "incitement to do any of the above".
These guidelines also include base fines, which are multiplied by four for F1 drivers.
Committing an infraction within the bounds of misconduct includes a €10,000 base fine for the first offence - which becomes €40,000 for an F1 driver, rising to a base €20,000 fine (€80,000 in F1) and a suspended one-month suspension on the second offence.
A further instance involves a fine of €30,000 (€120,000 in F1) with "1-month suspension plus deduction of Championship points".
Similar penalties will be granted for "any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA" and "any public incitement to violence or hatred".
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