What are pilots now exposed to in the event of rudeness?

As part of an update to its International Sporting Code (CSI), the FIA ​​has unveiled a series of guidelines for penalties imposed by stewards which can lead to fines or even withdrawal of points due to rudeness but also other code violations related to the issue of comments and positions.

This Wednesday, while much of the attention of the F1 world was focused on Lewis Hamilton's first drive with Ferrari, a new version of the CSI was published in which new guidelines were issued for infractions committed within the framework of article 12, and more particularly article 12.2 which relates to “violations of regulations”.

Indeed, for a whole series of possible offenses, a new mention has been added referring to an “Annex B” which “contains penalty guidelines”. This new feature concerns:

• Article 12.2.1.f which considers it an offense “any words, acts or writings which cause moral or material harm 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” ;
• Article 12.2.1.l which prohibits “any bad behavior”the latter being defined as follows by the CSI: “misconduct refers in particular to, but is not limited to: 1. the general use of language (written or oral), gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, rude, impolite or abusive, which can reasonably be expected to be considered rude, impolite, offensive, humiliating or inappropriate, 2. physical violence (elbowing, punching, kicking, headbutting, etc.), 3. to incitement to commit one of the actions
  mentioned above” ;
• article 12.2.1.n which prohibits “any public incitement to hatred or violence” ;
• article 12.2.1.o which prohibits “the general formulation and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments, in particular in violation of the general principle of neutrality carried by the FIA ​​under the terms of its Statutes, unless prior written approval of the FIA ​​for international competitions or of the ASN competent for national competitions under their jurisdiction”
• and article 12.2.1.p preventing “any failure to comply with FIA instructions regarding the nomination and participation of persons during official ceremonies during a competition counting towards an FIA championship”.

In these guidelines in Appendix B, which are not written in French but only in English unlike the rest of the code, a basic fine is set for each of these offenses and automatically multiplied by 4 when it is a pilot of the Formula 1 world championship which is the author.

But that's not all, since the first repeat offense (over a period of two years) will result in both a doubling of the basic fine but also a one-month suspended suspension. A second recurrence, still over a period of two years after the first offense, is even planned, with tripling of the basic fine, one month of firm suspension and “championship points deduction”.

For the first four articles cited above, the basic fine is 10,000 euros (therefore 40,000 for F1 drivers), that for the second offense is 20,000 euros (80,000 for F1 drivers) and that for the third offense is 30,000 euros (120,000 for F1 drivers). For article 12.2.1.p, the basic fines are heavier, respectively 15,000, 30,000 and 45,000 euros, always to be multiplied by 4 for Formula 1 drivers.

It should be noted that for offenses falling under article 12.2.1.o, therefore concerning “political, religious and personal comments”all these sanctions are also accompanied by“excuses” and a “retraction of comments” which must be “public”. As for the offenses falling under article 12.2.1.p, they may result in a suspension of access to the “reserved areas” (for a GP in the event of a first recurrence or for six months in the event of a second recurrence) on the Grands Prix, which goes from the track to the paddock via the parc ferme and the media zone.

These offenses do not of course only concern F1 drivers but they will be the most severely punished. Indeed, for all other FIA world championships (WEC, WRC, FE), the basic fine will be multiplied by 3; for the “regional” championships, it will be par 2; and finally for all championships, it will be the basic fine that will be in force.

In addition to this addition of guidelines, the code has also been modified in other points. Among them, we note the appearance of an article 13.7.7 which now provides that “any complaint against a decision of the sports stewards will be inadmissible”. This obviously does not eliminate the possibility of activating the “right of revision”, but the latter is rarely considered admissible because it involves bringing “a new, significant and relevant element which was not available to the parties initiating recourse to
time of the relevant decision”.