Updates to the FIA’s International Sporting Code ahead of the 2025 motorsport season included potentially harsh penalties, even sporting penalties, for driver misconduct including swearing.
FIA considering changes to strict driver swearing penalties
The President of motorsports governing body indicated changes could be coming to the new strict misconduct penalties
Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
But in a new post on social media FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem indicated that changes to that new Appendix B to the International Sporting Code are being considered by the motorsport governing body.
“Following constructive feedback from drivers across our seven FIA World Championships, I am considering making improvements to Appendix B. As a former rally driver, I understand the demands they face better than most,” began the post on social media.
“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 comments come in the wake of an agreement between the FIA and the World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA) earlier this month, which was formed in the aftermath of Adrien Fourmaux’s fine for swearing during this year’s Rally Sweden. The driver received one of the first penalties for swearing under the new Appendix B after swearing following Rally Sweden’s final stage while being interviewed on the WRC’s global TV feed. Having crashed into a snowbank and retired the day before, Fourmaux expressed his frustration by saying: “We f***ed up yesterday.”
The Hyundai driver was fined €10,000, with a further €20,000 suspended for 12 months, under the newly-created Appendix B.
After the formation of the WoRDA, in response to that penalty, meetings were held between WoRDA representatives and FIA representatives. A compromise was reached, under which certain environments during a WRC round are no longer subject to the same level of scrutiny from rules around competitor language.
As explained by eight-time world champion co-driver Julien Ingrassia, who was involved in the discussions on behalf of the WoRDA, “[t]he rally will now be divided into two zones: one is a controlled zone, one is an uncontrolled zone. The latter is based around heat-of-the-moment areas such as stage ends, onboard cars during the stages or on road sections.
“Controlled sections are, for example, the media zones and the post-event FIA press conferences. This is not a change to Appendix B [of the FIA International Sporting Code], which cannot be modified in 2025; rather, this is an agreement between the FIA and WoRDA.”
The 2025 Formula 1 season has not seen any penalties handed out under the new Appendix B as of yet. Carlos Sainz Jr. avoided a penalty after he swore during a press conference ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix when he was discussing a fine he was given after being late to the pre-race National Anthem before the Japanese Grand Prix. Speaking about the incident, Sainz explained his tardiness by saying he had a “stomach issue” and had to use the facilities.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get another fine for saying this, but s--- happens. It’s the way it is. It’s the way it goes sometimes,” said the Williams driver.
The FIA did not take any action, noting that the driver had apologized for his conduct and would make up for the breach, in a manner to be determined.
However, following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix — where Max Verstappen was given a five-second penalty for an opening-lap incident with Oscar Piastri — the Red Bull driver was seen speaking with President Ben Sulayem following the race. During the FIA Press Conference that followed, Verstappen was rather tight-lipped about the race.
“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,” said Verstappen at one point.
Now given the FIA President’s statement, and the agreement between the governing body and the WoRDA, we might see a similar agreement between the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) and the FIA in the coming weeks.
See More:
