The FIA has announced that from the 2026 season onwards, the costs for filing protests, revisions, and technical investigations will significantly increase. This decision follows a series of incidents over the past two years, where F1 teams frequently appealed to the procedures, often with minimal chances of success. The aim of the new FIA measure is clear: to discourage frivolities and improve the speed of race decisions.
According to the recently approved draft rules of the sports regulations, discussed during the FIA’s World Council meeting in December, teams will have to account for a significantly higher deposit amount from 2026, which will be refunded in case of a successful protest. The costs will also be included within the teams’ budget cap.
In addition to the increase in protest fees, the costs for technical investigations of rival cars will also be ramped up, as well as for requests for revision, which will be set at 20,000 euros per request from next year. The package of measures is intended to make the sporting process in Formula 1 stricter, more transparent, and more accountable. With this step, the FIA hopes that teams will be more selective with protests and that race results can be determined more quickly and definitively.
