Sébastien Ogier has been handed a suspended fine of €30,0000 by Acropolis Rally Greece stewards, following comments criticizing the duration of gaps between cars on the rally’s opening stage on Friday.
After concerns of hanging dust, Ogier had made requests to the stewards for four-minute gaps to be in place during Friday morning to alleviate that issue.
Though stage two and three did later have four minute gaps, this was caused by a red flag and blockage of SS1 when Lambros Athanassoulas crashed and blocked the road, requiring larger gaps on subsequent stages to help the delayed cars in support classes catch up on the road section.
Stewards cited Ogier’s stage-end interview on SS1 as the offending remarks to be punished: “It is annoying to see that the sport never learns,” said Ogier. “We ask, we know that we are going to have dust. There is hanging dust. Oh, they say no. What do you have in your head? Nothing. It’s crazy.”
The stewards took a dim view of Ogier’s remarks, judging that he had violated Article 12.2.1.f of the FIA International Sporting Code – which relates to “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.”
Before the rain came (and after it had dried out...) the dust was always going to be an issue in Greece
It was also considered a violation of the Driver Declaration and Undertakings laid out in the WRC Sporting Regulations, which states that signatories must “refrain from any public declaration or comment in any form which may harm, weaken or put into disrepute the goodwill, fame, name and/or image of the Championship and the FIA and/or any of the Associated Bodies” and “at all times use my best endeavours to promote and encourage support for the Championship and motor sports generally.”
In a hearing conducted after Ogier had reached the Lamia service park after Saturday’s stages, joined by team manager Kai Lindström, the eight-time world champion “explained that his statement was made in the heat of the moment and because it was related to a safety issue regarding the dust through the special stage,” according to the stewards’ report.
While Ogier offered an apology, along with Lindström highlighting Ogier later thanked stewards for the increase to a four-minute gap on subsequent stages, this was deemed insufficient by stewards to dismiss the penalty.
In their decision, the stewards noted: “Even if Mr. Ogier made a statement related to a safety issue, this cannot be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance. All people are free to express their thoughts, but they must always be careful not to incur in general offences or deeds contrary to the interest of the sport.
“All statements made through live TV and/or social media in general, are shown to millions of spectators around the world. It should be noted that all famous drivers are followed by many people and by other young drivers as well. Mr. Ogier is an eight time World Rally Champion and has hundred-thousands of fans around the world.
“All those involved in FIA activities must expect to be treated in a fair manner, with respect, dignity and consideration, in the spirit of valuing diverse views and opinions. Discussing differences and critiquing ideas should be done in a non-confrontational manner with due regard for the viewpoints of others.
“Many people see famous athletes as an example and recent investigations have shown that there is a direct link between negative comments from drivers and increased hate directed towards officials. For this reason, in 2023 the FIA launched the campaign “United Against Online Abuse” underscoring the determination to preserve the sporting environment as a welcoming and respectful community for all.
“The Stewards considered that the nature of the breach committed by Mr. Ogier is serious, and in case of words that cause injury on the general interest of motor sports and on the values defended by the FIA, the penalty applied is appropriate following the FIA criteria.”
The use of this penalty mechanism in the World Rally Championship and this, not Ogier’s apology, was noted as the reason his €30,000 fine had been suspended for two years – which will then become enforceable if he violates the same rule for a second time.
“All competitors are advised that the suspension of the fine applied in this case is in consideration of this being the first application of the above-mentioned criteria in the FIA World Rally Championship and not only for the apologies made in front of the Stewards during the hearing.”
In a separate offence, M-Sport was also fined €5000, again suspended, for a violation of hybrid regulations.
Grégoire Munster’s car had run without a high-voltage status light – which either lights up green to indicate the system is safe or red if it is unsafe – for several hundred metres of road section.
During a road section after stage four, a reset cycle of the battery management system and its accompanying light system was instigated while the car was in motion. The software user manual for Compact Dynamics’ hybrid unit states this procedure must be done with the car at a standstill.
Marc Bouffanais, assistant to FIA technical delegate Jérôme Toquet, indicated M-Sport had been warned against this violation of protocol at a past event.
M-Sport defended their position when they “pointed out that they need to re-check the software in order to grant the cancellation of any automatic reset procedure,” according to the stewards’ report. But the stewards dismissed this defence, saying that: “The software settings are under the responsibility of each competitor, and therefore M-Sport Ford World Rally Team should avoid any other accidental breach of the above-mentioned regulations in the future.”
