Driver conduct and fines

Not every penalty comes from something that happens on the racing line. Drivers can also be punished for how they behave: what they say in a press conference, how they treat officials, and whether they wear the right safety kit. Most of these are dealt with by fines rather than sporting penalties, with one big exception: abusing an official now costs places or time.

These rules come from the FIA's International Sporting Code, which covers all FIA motorsport, not just F1. The F1 stewards apply them at each race.

#Swearing and misconduct

The Code bans offensive, insulting or abusive language and gestures, along with physical misconduct such as pushing or hitting. Under the 2026 penalty guidelines, the starting point for a first offence in what the FIA calls a controlled environment (press conferences, TV interviews, the podium) is a fine of up to €5,000. For more serious cases it can be doubled or tripled.

What a driver says on the team radio or in the car is generally treated as a private conversation and isn't punished. That changes if it happens repeatedly in a short time, involves racist or discriminatory language, or is aimed at officials.

For a first offence in a two-year period, the stewards can reduce the fine, suspend it entirely or, in exceptional cases, just give a warning. They take into account things like the driver's record and whether they were reacting to provocation.

#How the swearing rules changed

This area has moved around a lot recently.

In 2024 the FIA started cracking down on bad language. Max Verstappen was ordered to do community service after swearing in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix, and Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 (half of it suspended) for swearing in the post-race press conference in Mexico.

For 2025 the FIA rewrote the penalties. The base fine became €10,000, multiplied by up to four for F1 drivers, so a first offence could cost €40,000. Repeat offences could bring suspended race bans and even the loss of championship points. Drivers across several series pushed back hard, arguing the penalties were out of proportion.

In May 2025 the FIA softened the rules. It halved the base fine to €5,000, cut the F1 multiplier to a maximum of three, let stewards suspend penalties for first offences, and drew the line between controlled settings and private radio messages. That's broadly the system in place now.

#Abusing officials

This is where the rules got stricter. Any misconduct that involves abusing an official brings a sporting penalty, not just a fine:

These can be increased if the stewards think it's needed, and they can't be reduced for a first offence the way swearing fines can.

#Political and personal statements

Drivers need written approval from the FIA to make political, religious or personal statements at events, under the FIA's principle of neutrality. Breaking this can bring a fine of up to €20,000 and a demand for a public apology. Inciting violence or hatred carries the same maximum fine, or more serious penalties for very serious cases.

In practice, drivers still speak out on many issues. The rule is mostly about formal displays during official parts of the event, such as messages on clothing on the podium or the grid.

#Ceremonies

Drivers have to turn up to official ceremonies like the podium and the pre-race national anthem on time. Missing them can mean a fine of up to €5,000, which may be suspended for a first offence. The stewards can also ask a driver to do promotional or educational work for the FIA instead of paying.

#Safety equipment and jewellery

Drivers must wear approved safety kit, set out in a part of the Code called Appendix L: helmet, fireproof overalls and underwear, gloves and boots, and the head and neck support (HANS) device. Wearing jewellery in the car is banned, because metal can cause burns in a fire and interfere with medical scans after a crash.

The fines here are much bigger than for swearing:

The jewellery ban was always in the rulebook but wasn't strictly enforced until 2022, when the FIA began checking. It led to a very public back-and-forth with Lewis Hamilton over his piercings during that season.

More on the kit itself on the driver safety gear page.

#Team fines

Teams are fined far more often than drivers. Typical cases are pit lane speeding in practice (€100 for every km/h over, up to €1,000), unsafe releases from the pit box in practice, and procedural breaches such as getting the car to the weighbridge late. A team that knowingly lies on its technical paperwork can be fined up to €100,000.