FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has indicated that the controversial new guidelines introduced this year to govern driver behaviour may be revised.

Ahead of the F1 2025 season, the FIA updated ‘Appendix B’ in the International Sporting Code (ISC) to introduce set guidelines to help stewards determine penalties for rule breaches and allow for significant sanctions ranging from hefty financial fines to race bans to championship points deductions.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem hints at softening of Appendix B

Taking to social media on Monday, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has hinted that changes may be made to “improve” Appendix B, although this hasn’t clarified whether this means a change in attitude towards the contents of the Appendix – nor has there been confirmation of a timeline, although PlanetF1.com understands further clarity is expected before the Miami Grand Prix.

“Following constructive feedback from drivers across our seven FIA World Championships, I am considering making improvements to Appendix B,” Ben Sulayem wrote on Instagram.

“As a former rally driver, I understand the demands they face better than most.

“Appendix B is a key part of the International Sporting Code and is central in helping keep the sport accessible for all our sporting family.

“Humans make the rules and humans can improve the rules.

“This principle of continuous improvement is something I have always believed in and is at the heart of all we do at the FIA.”

The hints of a softening in stance come following a widespread negative reaction, amongst both fans and competitors, against the measures outlined in Appendix B, particularly pertaining to a driver’s use of language.

Ben Sulayem was elected as FIA president in 2021 and is up for re-election later this year. At present, there are no confirmed challengers to his presidency, which has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months following a spate of resignations and departures, including his deputy president for sport Robert Reid.

Ben Sulayem has nominated WRC team boss Malcolm Wilson as Reid’s successor, with FIA members set to vote on this nomination in June 2025.

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What changes were made in Appendix B of the International Sporting Code?

As reported at the time, clauses in the ISC have had particular relevance in Formula 1 and other series under the FIA’s remit.

These pertain to competitors causing ‘moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers’, as well as any acts of ‘misconduct’.

A sliding scale of suggested punishments was outlined in the document, with Article 12.2.2.1.L of the ISC covering the area of ‘Any Misconduct’, which were the grounds under which Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were investigated for using the word “f**k” in an FIA press conference last season. Verstappen was hit with a community service punishment, which he served in Rwanda ahead of the FIA’s Prize-Giving Gala.

Under these guidelines, drivers who violate the guidelines in 2025 would face a fine for a first offence, escalating to steeper fines and sporting penalties for repeat infractions within a two-year window.

Fines are scaled according to the championship level. F1 drivers, for instance, face four times the base penalty: €40,000 for a first misconduct offence, €80,000 and a suspended one-month ban for a second, and €120,000 with an active ban and loss of championship points for a third.

In theory, an F1 driver could face a ban, a points deduction, and €120,000 fine for swearing three times in press conferences across two seasons.

The FIA and Ben Sulayem defended the introduction of the guidelines, stating that Appendix B was intended to help stewards apply existing rules with greater consistency and transparency. They emphasised that the document serves as guidance and that the stewards retain discretion.

For example, adrenaline-fuelled radio outbursts are understood to fall outside of the reaches of Appendix B unless it was felt the competitor was abusive or used discriminatory language. But the drivers and competitors are expected to conform to the demands of the Appendix when speaking outside of competition, ie. in FIA press conferences and media interviews.

While no F1 drivers have been fined for swearing, Carlos Sainz was hit with a €10,000 fine for being late to the national anthem at the Japanese Grand Prix. The fine, under Appendix B, should have been €60,000 but Sainz had verifiable evidence that he had encountered stomach issues which required medical assistance.

However, in the World Rally Championship, Adrien Fourmaux, the Hyundai WRC star, became the first driver to be punished under the new guidelines following a stage-end interview at Rally Sweden in February.

Referring to an incident in which he had forgotten to fasten his helmet ahead of a stage, forcing him to stop during the run and lose valuable time to his competitors, Fourmaux remarked that he had “f***ed up.”

The Frenchman’s use of foul language saw him hit with a €10,000 fine with a further €20,000 suspended for 12 months.

With no contact from Ben Sulayem forthcoming in the aftermath of Rally Sweden, the WRC drivers opted to stage a mass protest at the following round in Kenya last month as the long-held practice of stage-end interviews was dropped.

An agreement has since been reached in the WRC, following the establishment of the World Rally Drivers’ Alliance (WoRDA) in response to the roll-out of Appendix B.

WoRDA co-founder Julien Ingrassia explained that adaptations were made to reflect the nuances of rallying — where media zones and formal settings are regulated, but spontaneous reactions at stage ends or during transit are not.

“This is not a change to Appendix B, which cannot be modified in 2025. Rather, this is an agreement between the FIA and WoRDA,” he told DirtFish.

“We’re really pleased to find a solution.

“As was the case in Formula 1, adjustments were needed to take into consideration some of the unique aspects of our discipline.

“A common objective has now been reached: to follow the regulations laid out in Appendix B as closely as possible while leaving enough room for the emotions and authenticity that rally fans expect.

“Only swear words are targeted in this agreement; WoRDA agrees that violence and gross misconduct have no place in our sport.”

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) wrote a letter to Ben Sulayem towards the end of 2024, stating that, “With regards to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or a driving situation.

“We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise.

“Further, our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants.”

Ben Sulayem’s response to this, issued via an interview with Autosport, was to say that it was “none of their business”.

The hinting at a softening of Appendix B comes after Max Verstappen refused to discuss a penalty he picked up during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, instead choosing silence, “I know I cannot swear in here, but at the same time, you also can’t be critical in any form that might ‘harm’ or ‘danger’…

“Let me get the sheet out. There’s a lot of lines, you know? So that’s why it’s better not to talk about it – you can put yourself in trouble, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

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