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In its never-ending battle with its own drivers, Formula One approved new fines and suspensions on Wednesday for those who swear or make political, religious, or personal statements. They qualified those statements as being any that require a “public apology and repudiation.”
According to the new rules, “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 motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA,” will cost Formula One drivers $41,600 (€40,000) for the first offense, $83,480 (€80,000) plus a one-month suspension for offense number two, and $125,220 (€120,000) plus a month-long suspension and a deduction of Championship points.
This follows FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem saying in September, “I mean, we have to differentiate between our sport, motorsport, and rap music.”
In November, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association fought back with a public statement about fines for swearing, saying, “With regards to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as a Formula 1 car, or a driving situation.
“We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewelry and underpants.”
Another new rule warns Formula One drivers against “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.”
For a first offense, drivers will be fined $$41,600 for the first offense and make a public apology and repudiation of the comments. For a second offense, the fine is $83,480 plus the apology and a one-month suspension. A third offense will cost a driver $125,220 plus a month-long suspension and a deduction of Championship points.
“The aim of this new appendix is to provide clear guidance to stewards regarding the penalties for violations of specific (international sporting code) articles,” the FIA explained. “By establishing a more structured framework, the FIA seeks to ensure that penalties are applied uniformly and transparently, benefiting both stewards and drivers/competitors.”