The FIA makes changes to the governing body’s sporting code that has many talking about the implications and questioning the motives of the FIA. The changes could see drivers punished with a €40,000 fine for a breach of the rules. An €80,000 fine for a second offense and a suspended one-month suspension from competing. A third offense would increase to a €120,000 penalty and a one-month racing ban.
The FIA said: “The new appendix to the FIA International Sporting Code (ISC) aims to further enhance transparency and consistency in decision-making.
“All major governing bodies including the likes of NFL, FIFA and IOC have similar rules/ fines to protect the integrity of the sport. The FIA is not alone in fining competitors for misconduct.
“The aim of this new appendix is to provide clear guidance to stewards regarding the penalties for violations of specific ISC articles. By establishing a more structured framework, the FIA seeks to ensure that penalties are applied uniformly and transparently, benefiting both stewards and Drivers/Competitors.
“Stewards have the authority to decide what penalty to enforce in the event of a breach of the International Sporting Code (ISC) and/or the applicable FIA regulations. 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.”
I was reading an article by Ben Hunt over at Autosport and while I agree with most of what he said, I do think he brings up a very salient point about the changes saying:
The more-worrying addition is the following clause which relates directly to the FIA. It lists the forbidding of “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA”.
This does seem to be a gray area…like, charcoal gray. The changes leave a lot to the interpretation of the stewards and suggests the FIA president is hyper-focused on minutiae instead of the major issues in governing motorsport. It almost seems to be changes that are personally motivated to punish those who disagree with him. At least that’s what it seems like from the outside looking in.
There’s no doubt that the amount of blue language should be something drivers and teams try to clamp down on. There are lots of children watching the series and many parents would rather not have their children listening to driver F-bombing every third word.
To Ben’s point though, there is some history of drivers being vocal about the FIA and no doubt that history is pretty ugly if you consider Jean-Marie Balestre and his battle with Ayrton Senna.
If memory serves correctly, I can recall drivers being critical of the FIA when Max Mosley was in charge and there were threats and fines for a more general sporting code of conduct “bringing the sport into disrepute”. That was a wide net and something Max weirded with efficiency for anything he wasn’t pleased with.
Fernando Alonso, Jacques Villeneuve, McLaren, Max himself, Sebastian Vettel and many more. The point is, there is a sporting code that covers these kinds of situations and there is precedent. This new sporting code change goes much further.
“any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA” would imply, to me anyway, as the “personal” part of the changes. Calling out FIA members and executive officers is where this gets very egregious and personal.
If you juxtapose the era of Jean Todt, there was no less criticism or controversy and yet he didn’t engage in a power trip intended to punish those who criticized him. Even Max was more leveled in his approach.
It’s just my opinion but MBS seems completely ill-equipped for this role. He seems miscast for the play. A junior league performance in a role that demands a professional. I am stunned there’s been a call for a vote of confidence for him and as he continues changing the FIA’s regulations and codes to insulate himself and exert power is just not what this organization was intended for. It’s time for a change.
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Here’s a very simple example. The word for s*** in French is m e r d e. Now I’d like to know if the FIA are going to start fining people for the everyday use of that word which also is the equivalent in English of blast. I think that they’re opening a can of worms here with 27 languages that they’re not going to be able to control.
I think it’s a two way street the drivers have offered the FIA a room to furnish thus by acting foul mouthed and also sulky and bratty (looking at you Max). You want to be treated like an adult act like an adult, or risk something worse. Or, as my wife says, FAaFO
Hockey legend Don Cherry recounts a tale when he was coaching an NHL team, he was cursing up a blue streak in an arena that didn’t have glass separating the players from the fans. One elderly lady chastised his language and he felt sheepish. So during the intermission, he went up to apologize and talk to her. “Listen ma’am, I’m sorry, but you know, I’m sure you’ve heard those words before, right?” She shot back, “Yea, but I’ve never paid $100.00 for a ticket to hear them!” As mics are everywhere now, it’s not like athletes are cursing more necessarily,… Read more »
Well MBS is the one who is harming the sport, is going to fine himself?
Also, yes other sports have similar regulations but the risk to personal injury is far greater in motorsport than say at football, the adrenaline would be much higher than kicking a ball around.