FIA releases F1 penalty and racing guidelines

Formula 1’s governing body has taken another step towards “transparency” regarding how race officials handle penalty decisions during a race weekend.

The FIA announced on Thursday that “two key documents created to assist Stewards with fair and consistent decision making in application of the regulations of the FIA Formula One World Championship are to be made publicly available for the first time.” Those two documents, the Formula 1 Penalty Guidelines and the Formula 1 Driving Standards Guidelines, were published on the FIA’s website in full.

“FIA Stewards perform a hugely complex task, not just in Formula 1 but across all of our championships, and they do this voluntarily, with great passion and commitment,” said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem in a statement. “That dedication is all too often met with extreme and wholly unwarranted criticism.

“To demonstrate the rigour with which they pursue their role, we are today publishing the Penalty and Driving Standards Guidelines that assist them with their decisions. This will give fans and members of the media a much deeper and more accurate insight into how decisions are made in Formula 1. The Penalty Guidelines have been a core tool for almost a decade while the Driving Standards Guidelines introduced in 2022 and constantly updated have brought the most important voices, those of the drivers, to the table to create a genuine reference for certain racing situations.”

Mercedes driver George Russell, the Director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, called the move a “useful step” toward transparency.

“Greater transparency within the governance of our sport is an important issue and this is a useful step in that direction,” said Russell. “Hopefully it will be beneficial for the sport to give the media and fans a clearer understanding of the rules of engagement when we’re racing on track, and to help them understand how the stewards reach their decisions.”

The move comes in the wake of several penalty incidents that have garnered attention in the F1 world. This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix marks the anniversary of one such incident, a battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the closing stages of last season’s race. The two came together as they were battling for the lead in the final laps, and Verstappen was given a penalty as a result of that collision.

Last year’s United States Grand Prix saw another incident between Norris and Verstappen, where Norris completed an overtake of the Red Bull driver but race officials determined he left the track and gained an advantage during that fight.

Norris was given a five-second penalty which demoted him to fourth place, promoting Verstappen to the final podium spot.

With respect to overtaking decisions, the drivers’ guidelines contain these provisions (emphasis in original):

A. Overtaking on the INSIDE of a corner:

To be entitled to be given room when overtaking on the INSIDE, the overtaking car must:

i) Have its front axle AT LEAST ALONGSIDE THE MIRROR of the other car PRIOR TO AND AT THE APEX

ii) Be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex, and not have “dived in”.

iii) In the Stewards’ estimation, have taken a reasonable racing line and been able to complete the move whilst remaining within track limits.

B. Overtaking on the OUTSIDE of a corner:

Overtaking on the outside will always be viewed as a more difficult manoeuvre to accomplish.

To be entitled to be given room, including at the exit, when overtaking on the OUTSIDE, the overtaking car must:

i) Have its front axle AHEAD OF THE FRONT AXLE of the other car AT THE APEX.

ii) Be driven in a controlled manner from entry, to apex, and to exit.

iii) Be able to make the corner within track limits.

You can read both the Formula 1 Penalty Guidelines and the Formula 1 Driving Standards Guidelines in full here.