FIA's new contentious guidelines passed 'with no consultation with other stakeholders or the GPDA': Reports

On January 22, the FIA released its new guidelines in the form of the International Sporting Code, whose purpose is to "regulate, encourage and facilitate motor sport." Reportedly, the guidelines were released without any collaboration between the parties involved in the sport, such as the F1 drivers' association.

The new guidelines have also come with penalties ranging from fines to month-long race suspensions for breach of rules related to swearing. A source told the BBC that the guidelines were passed quickly and without consideration from all partners, stating that the process was a:

"snap e-vote and with no consultation with other stakeholders or the GPDA or the FIA's own drivers' commission."

The GPDA, or the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, is a union for F1 drivers founded in 1961. It's current director is Mercedes' George Russell, who took over the position from Romain Grosjean at the end of 2020. The GPDA took a stand against the governing body's statements on driver swearing in November last year. In a letter from the association released in November addressed to the governing board and it's president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, it said:

"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 an F1 car, or a driving situation. We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise."

Under the new guidelines the penalty for misconduct, which is defined as "the general use of language (written or verbal), gesture and/or sign that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive and might reasonably be expected or be perceived to be coarse or rude or to cause offense, humiliation or to be inappropriate", for F1 drivers is a fine for €40,000 if it is their first offense, €80,000 for a second offence, and a third offence would end up with a €120,000 fine, with a one month suspension and a deduction of championship points.

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FIA statement clarifies governing board's intentions with new guidelines

FIA WEC Imola 2024 - Source: Getty

With the new guidelines being released, a statement from the governing board defended the penalties and the freedom of the governing board's officials to hand them out.

The statement, which also clarified the board's motives, said:

"By establishing a more structured framework, the FIA seeks to ensure that penalties are applied uniformly and transparently, benefiting both stewards and drivers/competitors." [via The Race]

"Stewards have the authority to decide what penalty to enforce in the event of a breach of the the international sporting code and/or the applicable FIA regulations. [via BBC]

"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."

The updated Sporting Code's effects will be seen during the F1 2025 season, once it begins with the first race at Melbourne, Australia in March.