(Motorsports news) The penalty were raised as part of an amendment to the governing body’s International Sporting Code, which applies to all FIA championships, which also saw a fine increase as part of the adjustment. Previously, the highest fine that FIA event stewards – who act independently from the governing body after being nominated for certain events – could levy on a competitor was €250,000.
The maximum fine limit has been increased in the update issued following the FIA’s last World Racing Council session in Geneva since it had “not been reviewed nor amended for at least the last 12 years and does not reflect the current needs of motorsport.” This is thought to relate to the rises in team and other organization growth after 2011, with F1 teams alone nearing $1 billion in value.
The maximum fine for F1 contestants has been raised to €1,000,000, €750,000 for competitors in the other FIA world championships (World Rally, World Rally-Raid, World Endurance, World Rallycross, and Formula E), and €500,000 for all other FIA championships, cups, prizes, challenges, or series. Any FIA event competitor, whether an individual driver, a team, or even an event, can face sanctions, including fines.
A recent example of such investigation was the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, which was summoned earlier this season to explain to the stewards how spectators had entered the circuit before the race had finished. The FIA has tightened limits on “the unauthorised use of all pyrotechnical devices” – such as flares – in another update aimed at event organizers.
These have become a discussion topic at various F1 events in recent years, with multiple flares landing inside the track area disrupting the 2022 Dutch GP weekend. It is thought, however, that this change is not limited to F1, but also applies to events such car rallies, where smoke from flares may interfere with driver visibility and other event safety elements.
“In October 2022, the Council of the European Union stressed the need to prevent and counter the use of pyrotechnics at sports venues,” the statement said. “Following a review of the situation in motorsport, it has been concluded that the unauthorised use of all pyrotechnical devices at races can pose significant public health and safety risks and should, as such, be avoided and countered.”
“As a result, the [WMSC] approved a new provision and definition in the ISC prohibiting the illegal possession and use of pyrotechnics at FIA.”
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