FIA president considering ‘improvements’ to swearing rules

LONDON – FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said on April 28 that he was considering “improvements” to rules that impose heavy sanctions for misconduct – including swearing – in Formula One and other series.

Competitors in rallying and Formula One have long been at loggerheads with the Emirati, who will be up for re-election at the end of the year, over a

crackdown on bad language during events.

World championship rally drivers, who had condemned the fines, made a breakthrough last week when they reached a compromise to divide events into a controlled zone and an uncontrolled one.

“Following constructive feedback from drivers across our seven FIA world championships, I am considering making improvements to Appendix B,” Ben Sulayem said on his Instagram account. “As a former rally driver, I understand the demands they face better than most.”

Ben Sulayem said that Appendix B, which was amended in January with tougher penalties, was a key part of the International Sporting Code but “humans make the rules and humans can improve the rules”.

Further details are expected later in the week, during Formula One’s next race at the Miami Grand Prix.

Appendix B covers stewards’ penalty guidelines, setting out punishments for misconduct including words, deeds or writings that might have caused moral injury to the FIA or motor sports in general.

A first offence in Formula One incurs a €40,000 (S$60,000) fine, rising to €80,000 for the second and €120,000 with a one-month suspension and deduction of championship points for a third breach.

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”.

That has been seen in Formula One, when Williams driver Carlos Sainz escaped sanction for an expression used in a press conference earlier in April.

Estonian rally driver Ott Tanak, world champion in 2019, said at the weekend that there had been very positive progress with the FIA.

Others are still wary, however.

Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, who had to do work of public interest last season for swearing, bit his lip in response to what he thought was an unfair punishment – a five-second penalty for leaving the track – during the last grand prix in Saudi Arabia.

“I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised,” he told reporters. REUTERS