The FIA has introduced new guidelines which could see F1 drivers receive points deductions or a possible ban for misconduct violations, including swearing.
Max Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” at the end of 2024 after using an expletive during a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) called out FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in November in response to Formula 1’s swearing saga, which the FIA did not respond to at the time.
On Wednesday, an updated version of the FIA’s International Sporting Code was published for 2025, which included detail on ‘stewards penalty guidelines’ under an Appendix B.
Violating the misconduct regulations the first time will incur a €40,000 (£34,000) fine for an F1 driver. A second offence would see a fine of €80,000 (£68,000) and a suspended one-month suspension.
A third offence would be punished with a €120,000 (£102,000) fine, plus one-month suspension and deduction of championship points.
The same penalties would be given for “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA” and “any public incitement to violence or hatred”.
Should a driver be found in breach of “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its Statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA for International Competitions, or by the relevant ASN for National Competitions within their jurisdiction”, they would be fined and also need to make a full public apology and retract their comments.
What about the most extreme punishment?
It is also possible for an F1 driver to be banned if their is deemed a “failure to comply with the instructions of the FIA regarding the appointment and participation of persons during official ceremonies at any Competition counting towards a FIA Championship”.
One offence would see a €60,000 (£50,000) fine, with a second offence resulting in a €120,000 (£101,000) fine and “suspension of access to Reserved Area(s) of the event for the next event” – which effectively means a race ban.
Another offence in failing to comply with ceremony instructions would see a €180,000 (£152,000) fine and a six-month race suspension.
The guidelines document did also state that “stewards retain the discretion to take into account any mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances as well as the nature and location of the event, to tailor the penalty to the specific situation”.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Guenther Steiner gives his opinion on Max Verstappen being given community service for swearing in a press conference
What happened last year between Verstappen, Ben Sulayem and FIA?
The issue of swearing was thrust into the spotlight after Ben Sulayem said in an interview published on the eve of last September’s Singapore GP that he wanted to see less foul language, which is bleeped from radio feeds aired on F1’s world TV feed.
He said F1 should “differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music” which Lewis Hamilton thought was “stereotypical” language with a “racial element”.
While Ben Sulayem, who became FIA president at the end of 2021 on a four-year term, said he had made a request to Formula 1 itself, the sport’s commercial rights holder, he also argued that drivers themselves had a responsibility to mind their language.
Max Verstappen was part of an astonishing press conference following qualifying in Singapore as he refused to answer questions comprehensively after a swearing penalty
Later on the same day the interview was published, Verstappen was given F1’s equivalent of community service for swearing during a press conference when describing his Red Bull car’s performance, which resulted in him refusing to give full answers in official media appearances that followed over the remainder of the Singapore weekend.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc then received a €10,000 (£8,420) fine for using a swear word in the post-race press conference at October’s Mexico City Grand Prix. Although stewards took into account the fact Leclerc had issued an immediate apology and appeared contrite, a fine for the rules breach was still levied.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which all 20 F1 drivers are part of, released a statement in November, which touched on several points, including swearing and said “there is a difference between swearing to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or driving situation”.
The statement also expressed concerns about fines and what is done with the money from the financial punishments.
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