FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has urged stewards to leverage new regulatory powers to penalise competitors who make derogatory comments about officials, following a revision to the International Sporting Code’s (ISC) regulations on misconduct.
In a recent social media post, Ben Sulayem announced that the FIA has updated the ISC’s misconduct clause to combat online abuse targeting officials. This move is part of the FIA’s ongoing United Against Online Abuse campaign, which has identified a direct link between negative remarks from drivers and increased online hostility towards officials.
“Recent investigations revealed that negative comments from drivers and team members contribute to a rise in hate directed at officials on social media,” Ben Sulayem explained. “The revised regulations aim to support our officials and volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain fairness and safety in the sport.”
The previous update to the ISC’s misconduct clause followed the penalty of Sergio Perez for criticizing stewards at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Perez’s comment, “the stewards are a joke,” after receiving a time penalty, led to the stewards taking action.
The updated clause has already affected Yuki Tsunoda, who received a €40,000 (approx. £33,900) fine for using offensive language over the radio during the Austrian Grand Prix, though the officials suspended half of the fine.
The FIA’s crackdown on negative comments is not new; past incidents have seen penalties for criticisms directed at officials. For instance, in 2021, Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, received a warning for blaming a “rogue marshal,” and Guenther Steiner, the former Haas team principal, faced fines and reprimands in previous years. Fernando Alonso also criticized the Miami Grand Prix stewards in 2022 and questioned FIA officials’ impartiality in 2024.
Ben Sulayem has called on stewards to enforce these new regulations rigorously, emphasizing the FIA’s zero-tolerance stance on abuse. “Our stewards must show strength in tackling this issue,” he asserted. “The FIA will not tolerate any form of abuse within our sport.”
In addition to revising the misconduct rules, the FIA has made other changes since Ben Sulayem’s election in late 2021. These include banning political statements at events and significantly increasing the maximum fines that can be imposed by Formula 1 stewards from €250,000 to €1 million (£870,000).
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