FIA publishes F1 racing guidelines and penalty system

The FIA has published this year’s updated F1 racing guidelines as well as its penalty system amid calls for more transparency.

F1’s racing guidelines, which suggest how the FIA’s race stewards might judge on-track incidents, have been the subject of much debate over the past 12 months and have seen substantial changes for 2025 after several high-profile incidents last season and discussions with the drivers.

But while the document had always been confidential, the governing body has now published the latest version used in 2025 on its website.

The most hotly-debated clause is the question of which car gets priority in a wheel-to-wheel duel and whether or not space must be left on the exit, with it being easier for a car on the inside to overtake this year.

The guidelines state the following:

“A. Overtaking on the INSIDE of a corner: To be entitled to be given room when overtaking on the INSIDE, the overtaking car must:
i) Have its front axle AT LEAST ALONGSIDE THE MIRROR of the other car PRIOR TO AND AT THE APEX
ii) Be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex, and not have “dived in”.
iii) In the Stewards’ estimation, have taken a reasonable racing line and been able to complete the move whilst remaining within track limits.

“B. Overtaking on the OUTSIDE of a corner: Overtaking on the outside will always be viewed as a more difficult manoeuvre to accomplish. To be entitled to be given room, including at the exit, when overtaking on the OUTSIDE, the overtaking car must:
i) Have its front axle AHEAD OF THE FRONT AXLE of the other car AT THE APEX.
ii) Be driven in a controlled manner from entry, to apex, and to exit. iii) Be able to make the corner within track limits.

“C. Chicanes and S-Bends:
i) The above guides for INSIDE and OUTSIDE may apply for each element of the combination. Generally, priority will be given to the first corner element.

“It’s important to stress these are guidelines, not regulations, and merely help competitors understand how stewards are likely to judge a certain incident. But stewards still have the authority to make case-by-case judgements based on the sporting regulations, and the FIA has specified the elements that are also being taken into consideration.

“i) How did the cars get to the incident? (E.g. late braking, diving in, moving under braking.)
ii) Was the manoeuvre late or “optimistic”?
iii) What could the drivers reasonably see, know, or anticipate?
iv) Do we believe the manoeuvre could be completed on the track?
v) Was there understeer / oversteer / locking?
vi) Did someone position / handle their car in a way that contributed to the incident?
vii) Did the type of corner contribute to the incident? (e.g. camber, kerbs, curve, apexes)
viii) What were the relative tyres / tyre age / grip?”

Other information in the document includes guidelines on track limits. The FIA’s announcement also included a comment from Mercedes driver and GPDA director George Russell, who had been critical of the governing body’s lack of transparency.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, passes George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“Greater transparency within the governance of our sport is an important issue and this is a useful step in that direction,” Russell said. “Hopefully it will be beneficial for the sport to give the media and fans a clearer understanding of the rules of engagement when we’re racing on track, and to help them understand how the stewards reach their decisions.”

The FIA also published a separate guidelines document detailing its system for penalties and penalty points, which have caught the public eye as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remains one point away from an automatic race ban throughout the Austria weekend.