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The FIA has drastically revised its penalties for misconduct which drivers criticised following their introduction four months ago.

Significantly, the sport’s governing body has halved the baseline fee for swearing to €5,000 (£4,200). It has also cut the ‘multiplier’ imposed on fines applied to F1 drivers from four to a maximum of three, meaning the highest possible fine they face for a first offence has fallen from €40,000 to €15,000.

The application of fines for swearing was a significant bone of contention for many drivers, who urged FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to abolish them entirely. World Rally Championship driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined €30,000, of which €20,000 was suspended, for swearing in an interview during a round of the series earlier this year. However Formula 1 stewards chose not to fine Carlos Sainz Jnr when he swore during a press conference in Bahrain last month, after he apologised.

The FIA’s revised guidelines no longer specify escalating penalties for repeated breaches. However the sport’s governing body has toughened up other penalties for breaches of its misconduct rules. The “making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments” can now attract an immediate penalty of €20,000, twice what it was before.

Any driver found to have committed “misconduct involving the abuse of officials” will receive a sporting penalty. In F1 this is likely to involve a three-place grid drop or five-second time penalty depending on when the infringement occurs.

The penalties will chiefly apply to offences which occur in what the FIA defines as a “controlled environment”, which includes “media conferences, interviews and podiums, and in rallies, the ceremonial start and service park.” Offences committed elsewhere “may be treated as private conversations,” the FIA stated, “except where multiple breaches occur within a short period of time, involve racial or discriminatory language, or include abuse of officials.”

The FIA defines non-controlled environments as including “radio transmissions between car and team, recordings made while on circuit, on a rally stage, or on a rally road section, as well as at the end of a rally stage” as well as “recordings made outside of controlled environments, particularly where the person recorded may not be aware they are being recorded.”

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Ben Sulayem, who indicated the change was coming in a social media post two weeks ago, called the revisions an “improvement” to the existing rules.

“As a former rally driver, I know first-hand the range of emotions that are faced during competition,” he said. “I have led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships, FIA Member Clubs and other motorsports organisations.

“The improvements the FIA has announced today to Appendix B will ensure we continue to promote the best of sportsmanship in motorsport, 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 motorsport is accessible for all our sporting family.”

The changes have been made to Appendix B of the International Sporting Code and came into effect today.

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