FIA revises driver swearing penalties after all

The FIA has revised the penalties in Appendix B of its International Sporting Code, thus reducing the potential fines for drivers caught swearing, with mechanisms also in place for suspended penalties and mitigating circumstances.

In January, the FIA updated its sporting code to include a series of stewards’ guidelines based on driver misconduct, which includes “the general use of language (written or verbal), gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive”, plus assault of official FIA members and the incitation to do either of the above.

Following a series of controversies over this, in which drivers in the World Rally Championship backed Adrien Fourmaux after the Frenchman was fined for using an expletive in a post-stage interview at February’s Rally Sweden, the earlier additions to Appendix B were disliked across multiple categories.

A lack of clarity regarding when language was perceived to be in breach of this was cited, particularly as expletive-laden radio traffic from Formula E driver Dan Ticktum was not punished at the Jeddah E-Prix.

Arguably, the measures were introduced following Max Verstappen’s use of a swear word during a press conference at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, and he responded in future FIA-run media sessions by choosing to offer minimal answers.

The FIA has now updated the regulations and reduced the base fine for any misconduct infringements from €10,000 to €5000. “However, for FIA world championships, where multipliers were involved, the reductions will be even more significant,” the governing body points out.

The FIA also states that stewards can suspend penalties for any first-time offenders, plus clarifies which sessions are subject to any punitive measures.

It has been stated that the “amended Appendix B will allow stewards to differentiate between controlled and non-controlled environments”, stating that controlled environments extend to press conferences and similar settings, while ‘uncontrolled’ comments made while on track are less likely to be punished.

The FIA’s statement adds that any mitigating circumstances will be taken into account by a race’s stewarding team.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated: “As a former rally driver, I know firsthand the range of emotions that are faced during competition.

“I have led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA world championships, FIA member clubs and other motor sports organisations.

“The improvements the FIA has announced today to Appendix B will ensure we continue to promote the best of sportsmanship in motor sport, while also giving stewards effective guidelines to act against individuals who may bring the sport into disrepute.

“The FIA will always be committed to ensuring motor sport is accessible for all our sporting family.”

Furthermore, abuse of any FIA officials at an event will now lead to sporting penalties rather than fines, while the governing body has stressed that any racial or discriminatory comments will be judged harshly.

F1 stewards chair Garry Connelly added that he was pleased to see further progress with the rules, and that stewards would continue to maintain their discretion when being called to judge any future incidents.

“The revised version will ensure that stewards have effective guidance in place to help them differentiate between on- and off-track issues,” said Connelly.

“I am pleased that stewards will continue to maintain the full discretion to consider any mitigating factors to ensure that a penalty is applied fairly to a specific situation, in particular to take into account the circumstances of the driver concerned.

“These changes will ensure motorsport can be enjoyed by fans of all ages and will continue all our collective efforts to grow the sport globally.”