FIA president ponders ‘improvements' to swearing rules
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said on Monday 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 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 openly condemned the fines, made a breakthrough last week when they reached a compromise to divide events into a controlled zone and an uncontrolled one.
"After 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 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 were expected later in the week, with Formula One racing in Miami.
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 motorsport in general.
A first offence in Formula One incurs a €40,000 (R845,146) fine, rising to €80,000 (R1,690,253) for the second and €120,000 (R2,535,380) 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 this month.
Estonian rally driver Ott Tanak, world champion in 2019, said at the weekend there had been very positive progress with the FIA.
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, who had to do work of public interest last year for swearing, bit his lip in response to what he thought was an unfair punishment during this month's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
McLaren extend their lead, But Verstappen steals the spotlight
Obakeng Meletse | Published 8 hours ago McLaren's dominance of the 2025 Formula One season is quickly becoming the norm, as the Woking-based outfit stretched their lead in both championships once again. But despite Oscar Piastri's commanding fifth win of the season handing him a ten-point lead at the top of the world drivers' championship, it was Max Verstappen who stole the headlines after a controversial end to the Spanish Grand Prix. Piastri now leads the standings with 186 points, closely followed by teammate Lando Norris on 176. The pair have consistently outpaced the field this season, leaving only Verstappen (137 points) as a distant challenger — though his hopes took a serious hit in Barcelona. Verstappen's race unravelled late after a collision with George Russell earned him a 10-second penalty, demoting him to 10th place. The Red Bull driver had already expressed frustration with his tyre strategy — concerns that proved justified when the race resumed on lap 64 of 66 following a late safety car. Struggling for grip on hard tyres, Verstappen was quickly overtaken by Charles Leclerc for third place. Moments later, Russell attempted a move on the Dutchman into Turn 1, leading to contact. Verstappen was instructed by his team to yield the position, and although he appeared to comply, he slowed erratically and made contact with Russell again — a move that seemed deliberate. Though both cars escaped major damage, the incident raised eyebrows. Verstappen's aggressive defense and controversial retaliation arguably warranted a harsher penalty. That he still finished in the points despite such conduct left many questioning whether the punishment fit the offense. Charles Leclerc produced another standout performance for Ferrari, finishing third despite being outqualified by teammate Lewis Hamilton for just the second time this season. It marked Leclerc's third podium of 2025, while Hamilton continues to chase his first. While Ferrari may lack outright pace compared to McLaren and Mercedes, Leclerc has consistently delivered strong results. He's made fewer mistakes, extracted more from the car, and has been a key factor in Ferrari holding second in the Constructors' Championship — just six points clear of a resurgent Mercedes team. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, brings immense experience and pedigree to Ferrari. But so far, it's Leclerc who's set the standard, quietly proving himself as the team's true leader. Few rookies have turned heads this season like Isack Hadjar. Alongside fellow debutant Kimi Antonelli, Hadjar has impressed with his maturity and pace — despite a difficult debut that saw him crash out in Australia. Since then, Hadjar has bounced back with resilience, collecting 21 points and outperforming teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who continues to struggle with the unpredictable RB16. Tsunoda's inconsistency has only strengthened the case for Hadjar, who now finds himself in contention for a more prominent role within the Red Bull system. At just 20-years old, Hadjar is not only showing promise — he's making a strong argument for a future seat at the senior team. With McLaren surging ahead, Verstappen under scrutiny, Ferrari balancing internal dynamics, and fresh talent rising through the ranks, the 2025 season is far from decided. As the paddock heads to Canada next, the pressure is mounting — and every point will matter.
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Russell clash should not have happened, says Verstappen
Max Verstappen has conceded that his Spanish Grand Prix clash with Mercedes' George Russell, which left the Formula One champion on the brink of a ban, was wrong and should not have happened. The Red Bull driver made his comments on Instagram a day after the race at the Circuit de Catalunya. Four-time world champion Verstappen was given a 10-second post-race penalty for appearing to drive into Russell after a late safety car period, as well as three penalty points on his super-licence. The added time dropped him from fifth to 10th while the penalty points took his tally to 11 in a 12-month period. One more in the next two races before the end of June will trigger a race ban. 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out,' Verstappen, who had led Sunday's race won by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, said in his post. 'Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Driving licence printing machine fixed but huge backlogs remain
The Department of Transport has repaired the driving licence card printing machine after months of downtime, but a significant backlog of unprinted cards remains. Image: File Millions have been spent on repairing and maintaining the driving licence card printing machine. The Department of Transport announced earlier last month that the driving licence printing machine was fixed and operations have resumed. The machine had been inoperative since February 5, resulting in a backlog of 747,748 unprinted cards. To reduce the backlog, the Department of Transport's Driving Licence Card Agency extended the working hours of its staff members. In light of this, in a parliamentary question and reply, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi asked Transport Minister Barbara Creecy about the number of times the machine broke down and how much it cost to repair it. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Zibi then asked how many employees it takes to operate the machine and how much overtime pay has been paid to employees due to lost printing time because of machine breakdowns. Zibi also asked Creecy if there was progress in acquiring a new card machine. Creecy said the backlog of driving licences as of May 15 was estimated at 733,000 cards. Creecy revealed the machine's major breakdowns in the past financial year are as follows: 2022/23 - 26 working days 2023/24 - 48 working days 2024/25 - 17 working days 2025/26 - 38 working days Over the same period, repairs and maintenance costs: 2022/23 - R9,267,862,33 2023/24 - R1,651,772,57 2024/25 - R544,747,64 2025/26 - R624,988,10 (to date) Overtime payment, over the last few financial years, has been: 2022/23 - R1,435,376,79 2023/24 - R1,608,102,52 2024/25 - R1,351,473,78 2025/26 - R0,00 Creecy said it takes four people to operate the machine. About progress made with the process to acquire a new driving licence card printing machine, Creecy said: 'The Minister has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, in order to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs.'
