The FIA has publicly released two key documents that support the decision-making of Formula 1 stewards for the first time. These are the Penalty Guidelines and the Driving Standards Guidelines – guidelines that until now were only used internally. This move is part of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s drive for greater transparency within the motorsport federation.
According to Ben Sulayem, the aim is to give fans, teams, and media more insight into how decisions are made based on the sporting regulations. “Stewards perform a complex task, with passion and voluntary commitment,” he stated in an official press release. “Unfortunately, they often receive harsh and unjust criticism for this. By publishing these guidelines, we show how carefully and consistently they work,” said the FIA president. Although the guidelines do not have official regulatory status, they are an important tool in assessing incidents. The stewards remain independent in their judgment and base decisions on the regulations, their own experiences, available evidence, and the guidelines that have been made public as of today.
The Guidelines
The Penalty Guidelines have been in existence for over ten years and contain about a hundred common infractions and the corresponding recommendations for penalties and penalty points. The guidelines are not binding, but provide stewards with a consistent framework and are regularly updated based on feedback from teams and drivers.”The Driving Standards Guidelines were developed in 2022 at the request of the Formula 1 drivers and drafted in consultation with the FIA drivers’ committee and teams. They provide clarity on track behavior in various situations such as overtaking on the inside and outside of corners, behavior at chicanes and S-curves, movement during braking, returning to the track after an incident, and recent insights around track limits. The most recent version of these guidelines was drafted after a meeting with drivers during the Qatar GP in 2024.
George Russell, Mercedes driver and chairman of the Formula 1 drivers’ union, welcomes the publication of the guidelines. “More transparency within the governance of our sport is important, and this is a useful step,” he said. “It helps fans and media to better understand how we are allowed to race and how stewards justify their decisions.” With this step, the FIA hopes to reduce the distance between decision-making and the outside world and increase trust in the sport. The documents can now be viewed on the official FIA channels. Similar documents from the six other branches of motorsport within the FIA will also be released soon.”
