May 8, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Dan Marino and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem applaud during the award ceremony following the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

formula-1

FIA Swearing Ban Attempts to School F1 Drivers on Track!

FIA will not back down on making Formula 1 drivers sound "professional"!

The FIA is governing body and regulation maker for Formula 1 and many other motorsports series. They are the pioneers who bring forth changes and add new elements to the sporting regulations for betterment of sport. Although, not every decision that FIA takes earns praise from drivers. The organisation is far from being perfect.

FIA is involved in a recent controversy with “swearing ban” among drivers and fans of the sport. The governing body of Formula 1 was in favor of issuing fines to drivers for insulting stewards or swearing. It was a “mature” decision to keep up the “dignity” of the sport.

FIA swearing ban: WRC drivers hit back against “unacceptable” fines ➡️ https://t.co/e2mOhTjeFw pic.twitter.com/POJ2FCsQQv
— Top Gear (@BBC_TopGear) February 24, 2025

In addition to that, FIA also started monitoring and controlling what drivers said during briefings or post-race interviews. The entire paddock wad angry about their new rules. The sporting regulations and code of conduct that FIA was trying to put forth, simply didn’t workout as intended.

Considering the situation, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President, said that the FIA will bring some changes to the new regulations. He also thanked the drivers for constructive feedback. This gave many fans and drivers the hope the regulations for “swearing ban” will be removed.

Drivers Can Now Get Penalty During Races Under FIA Swearing Ban

A few years ago, Sebastian Vettel gave us the prime example of why F1 drivers can swear so much. He said that in adrenaline fueled moment, any person would not think twice and try to be nice. He also cited sports like football and compared the situation their players face during matches.

But it seems like, FIA wants drivers to play “buddy-buddy” on track. They went on to worsen the consequences of swearing. Now, a driver will find that his race his ruined because he did not use “nice words”. George Russell was furious about their previous decision and wanted changes to happen. The new changes are definitely not what he wanted.

Big changes to the FIA's contentious guidelines about misconduct/swearing penalties that have riled drivers so much: pic.twitter.com/lVtLqUxnhA
— The Race (@wearetherace) May 14, 2025

Ironically, FIA claims that drivers will have to suffer less in these so called penalties. Why? Simple, because they won’t have to pay with money but they will pay with race performance and championship points.

Ben Sulayem’s official statement on these matters was-

“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.”

Meanwhile, the FIA has literally no idea on how to fix incorrect penalties or standardise the penalty system for similar offences during racing incidents. Maybe, the higher ups should focus more on driver issues and less on looking presentable and sounding “intellectual”. That way we can avoid- Abu Dhabi 2021 and other similar fiascos.

FIA

FIA President

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.