The FIA has introduced new guidelines that could see F1 drivers receive points deductions or possible bans for abuse, including swearing.
It was Max Verstappen ordered “to carry out some work of public interest”; In late 2024, after using profanity during a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) summoned FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem in November in response to the F1 swearing saga, to which the FIA did not respond at the time.
An updated version of the FIA’s International Sporting Code for 2025 was revealed on Wednesday, including details of stewards’ penalty guidelines in Annex B.
An F1 driver will be fined €40,000 (£34,000) for a first offense and face a fine of €80,000 (£68,000) and a one-month ban for a second offence.
A third offense will be punishable by a €120,000 (£102,000) fine, plus a one-month ban and deduction of championship points.
The same penalties will be imposed for “any speech, act or writing that has caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and generally to the benefit of motor sport and the values it protects.” FIA” and ” any public incitement to violence or hatred”.
If the driver has violated the “general performance and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments, which in particular violates the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA in its statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA by the International Affairs. Contests or by the respective ASN of the national contests under their jurisdiction, they will be fined and must also issue a full public apology and retract their comments.
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Gordon Ramsay gave Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater a tour of his pop-up restaurant at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and offers a classic response to the FIA ban on swearing.
And what about the most extreme punishment?
It is also possible for an F1 driver to be banned if he is found to have “failed to comply with the instructions of the FIA in relation to the appointment and participation of persons in the official ceremonies of any Competition counted as an FIA Championship”.
There is a €60,000 (£50,000) fine for a single offence, and a €120,000 (£101,000) fine for a second offense and “suspension of access to the protected event area(s) for the next event”, which effectively means; race ban.
Another offense of not complying with the ceremonial instructions carries a fine of €180,000 (£152,000) and a six-month ban from racing.
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Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Gunther Steiner gives his opinion on Max Verstappen, who was given community service for swearing at a press conference.
What happened between Verstappen, Ben Sulayem and the FIA last year?
The issue of profanity has come under the spotlight since Ben Sulayem said in an interview published on the eve of the Singapore GP last September that he wanted to see less profanity coming from F1’s global televsion radio feeds.
He said F1 should “differentiate our sport – motorsport, rap music” – which Lewis Hamilton said was “stereotypical” language with a “racial element”.
While Ben Sulayem, who will become FIA president for a four-year term at the end of 2021, said he had made the inquiry to Formula 1 itself, which owns the sport’s commercial rights, he also insisted that the drivers themselves had a duty to look after their to the language.
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Max Verstappen was part of a stunning press conference after qualifying in Singapore as he refused to answer questions comprehensively after swearing.
Later on the same day the interview was published, Verstappen was given F1’s equivalent of community service for swearing at a press conference when describing the performance of his Red Bull car, which led to him refusing to give full answers in official media appearances that followed. in the rest. Singapore weekend.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was then fined €10,000 for using profanity in a post-race press conference at the Mexico City Grand Prix in October.Although the stewards took into account the fact that Leclerc had promptly apologized and appeared crushed, a penalty was still levied for the breach.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which includes all 20 F1 drivers, issued a statement in November addressing several points, including swearing, and said “there is a difference between swearing to hurt others and more casual swearing like you can has been used to describe bad weather or a truly inanimate object such as an F1 car or driving situation.”
The announcement also raised concerns about fines and money received from financial penalties.
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