The FIA has revealed its guidelines to stewards on how they should punish drivers for actions it considers a “bad behavior”.
The governing body took the action two months after Formula One drivers called for transparency over how it used money raised from fines handed to them for swearing or using offensive language.
The FIA has increased the maximum fine that stewards could impose to €1 million in 2023. Guidelines published ahead of the 2025 season detail tiered fines for drivers at different levels of the FIA championship. F1 drivers will obviously pay the most.
Last year, Yuki Tsunoda was fined €40,000, half of which was suspended, for using an insult while speaking to his team on the radio. The message was not censored by FOM (Formula One Management) on F1 TV. Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000, half of which was suspended, for swearing at an FIA press conference in Mexico.
Max Verstappen has been ordered to perform public service for the FIA in Rwanda after swearing at the Singapore Grand Prix pre-race press conference. Furious, Verstappen reacted by refusing to speak at length during several FIA press conferences that followed.
The FIA said the following sanctions will be used for future infractions, but noted that stewards have the power to consider mitigating or aggravating factors. The list of sanctions includes fines and, in case of repeated violations, bans and point deductions.
As a preamble, the governing body defines misconduct as “the general use of language (written or verbal), gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, crude, impolite or abusive, which could reasonably be considered rude or impolite or which could cause offense, humiliate or be inappropriate”, “aggression (elbowing, kicking, punching, hitting, etc.)” and “inciting people to do any of the above”.
These guidelines also include basic fines, which are increased fourfold for F1 drivers.
Committing an offense within the scope of misconduct includes a base fine of €10,000 for the first offense – which becomes €40,000 for an F1 driver, rising to a base fine of €20,000 (€80,000 in F1) and a one-month suspended suspension for the second offense.
-And for the 3rd offense, it's a fine of €30,000 (€120,000 in F1) with a one-month suspension plus a deduction of championship points!
Similar sanctions are provided for “any words, acts or writings having caused moral harm or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its managers, and more generally to the interests of motor sport and the values defended by the FIA” and “any public incitement to violence or hatred”.
The FIA also maintained the same fines for “the formulation and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments, in particular in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA in its Statutes, unless prior written approval of the FIA for International Competitions, or of the ASN competent for National Competitions falling within their jurisdiction”while requiring pilots to issue a full public apology for their remarks and retract their comments.
Tougher sanctions will also be provided for any “breach of FIA instructions regarding the designation and participation of persons during the official ceremonies of any Competition counting towards an FIA Championship”.
This starts with a fine of €15,000, with a fine of €30,000 for another offense, plus “suspension of access to reserved areas of the event for the following event” — which can include everything from the track, paddock, parc ferme and media areas.
Any further failure to follow the ceremony's instructions will result in a fine of €45,000 plus a six-month suspension from defined restricted areas – again, all fines are multiplied by four for F1 drivers.
