FIA approves reduction to driver language penalties

A review led by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reduced the severity of penalties within Appendix B

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The FIA’s controversial amendments to Appendix B have been “improved” after an extensive review commissioned by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Appendix B relates to FIA steward penalty guidelines, which were modified in January 2025 in an effort to stamp out abusive language by increasing penalties stewards were able to award drivers.

This included a standardized €10,000 fine for any driver found guilty of using expletive language – triggered by comments Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen made to the press at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix last September. A 3x-multiplier applied to fines for World Rally Championship drivers, given its status as an FIA world championship.

However drivers across various FIA world championships, most notably F1 and the WRC, were not comfortable with the changes.

Adrien Fourmaux became the first rally driver to be fined at the end of Rally Sweden in February, which then led to the formation of the World Rally Drivers’ Alliance (WoRDA).

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Fourmaux was the first WRC driver to be fined under the amendments to FIA Appendix B

Ahead of Rally Islas Canarias three weeks ago, WoRDA found an agreement with the FIA to establish common ground for such language to be penalized, creating ‘controlled’ and ‘uncontrolled’ environments where the former comprised media zones and press conferences, and the latter end-of-stage interviews.

Now, the FIA has formalized modifications to its Appendix B under the guidance of Ben Sulayem.

Chief among those changes is a reduction of the base penalty from €10,000 to €5,000. Stewards will also have the option to fully suspend a penalty for certain types of breach, provided it is the first offence by the driver or team.

Following approval via e-vote by the World Motor Sport Council, the amended Appendix B will allow stewards to differentiate between controlled and non-controlled environments (as agreed with WoRDA), and abuse of officials will now result in sporting penalties rather than fines.

Ben Sulayem said: “As a former rally driver, I know firsthand the range of emotions that are faced during competition. I have led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships, FIA Member Clubs and other motor sports organisations.

“The improvements the FIA has announced today to Appendix B will ensure we continue to promote the best of sportsmanship in motor sport, while also giving Stewards effective guidelines to act against individuals who may bring the sport into disrepute. The FIA will always be committed to ensuring motor sport is accessible for all our sporting family.”

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