FIA Rolls Back Swearing Sanctions
Plus: The upcoming triple header and F1’s latest sustainability strategies
Welcome to The Undercut, a weekly newsletter round-up of the top storylines in racing brought to you by your favorite motorsport and enviro journo, Olivia Hicks. If you’re wondering “What the f*** is Formula 1?” Ask away! Leave a comment or send me a message with your burning questions.
The FIA Revises Swearing Sanctions
Formula 1’s ruling body, the FIA, announced a rollback of controversial swearing regulations on Wednesday.
At the end of the 2024 F1 season, the FIA began penalizing drivers for swearing during press conferences and, by January, the ruling body put in place a formal rule against “offensive” language. The punishment ranged from a €10,000 to €40,000 fine for a first misconduct offense to well over six figures, a one-month race suspension and a championship points deduction for several offenses. But enforcement has been inconsistent, with some drivers receiving hefty fines while others get off the hook.
The sporting code swearing sanctions came under fire by the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA).
This week’s revisions reduced penalties and the base misconduct fine to €5,000. The new regulations outline the difference between swearing in “controlled” versus “non-controlled” environments and take into account whether it is a driver’s first time breaking regulation.
“We’re talking about a situation where things have been reverted because it was a little bit ludicrous in the first place,” George Russell, the director of the GPDA, said ahead of the Imola race weekend. “Of course, we’re happy to see things go back to how they should be, but it should never have been there in the first place if that makes sense.”
Both Russell and his former teammate Lewis Hamilton called for a more formal working relationship between the GPDA and the FIA in Miami. Russell said, even after the revisions, he “still had no correspondence with anyone from senior level FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”
In September, I wrote about why trash talk and the occasional F-bomb can be a good thing in sports.
Looking Ahead to the Triple Header
Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (officially named the Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna) in Imola marks the start of a three-race stretch. Formula 1 heads to Monaco and Barcelona next.
The top storyline ahead of the triple header continues to be McLaren’s dominance out front. Oscar Piastri topped the first and second free practices ahead of teammate Lando Norris on Friday. Piastri leads the driver standings by 16 points, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull trailing in third behind both papaya orange machines.
While Red Bull goes into the race weekend with sizable upgrades, Verstappen said on Thursday that he doesn’t expect the team to catch up to McLaren anytime soon. (This week, Verstappen competed in an official Nurburgring Endurance Series test under the pseudonym “Franz Hermann” and, in typical Verstappen style, set a new track lap record.)
Despite the race acting as one of Ferrari’s home races on the F1 calendar, hopes aren’t high for the team that was projected to be a title favorite ahead of the season with Charles Leclerc and Hamilton as the team’s superstar driver duo. Both drivers have struggled to adapt to the 2025 car — facing both speed and strategy issues that impact qualifying position and the feature race finishing order.
The race weekend marks Hamilton’s first Italian race under the prancing horse emblem, but the driver who took his seat at Mercedes is stealing the spotlight. Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest pole-sitter in the sport at the Miami Grand Prix two weeks ago, is from just up the road. The 18-year-old Italian driver brought his high school classmates from Bologna on a field trip to the paddock ahead of the weekend.
Alternative Fuel, Flood Prevention and Defining Circularity
The race weekend in Imola comes with a somber reminder of 2023’s floods, which not only canceled the Grand Prix but destroyed homes and roads. Thousands of residents were forced to leave and 15 people died. The event sparked discussions about how F1 can adapt to a world where the effects of climate change are a pressing reality and continue to race in vulnerable host cities without straining emergency response services and energy resources.
Part of that strategy is power generation. During the European stint of the 2025 season, 37 bio-fueled trucks will aim to cut operations and transit emissions and the paddock and pit lane will use solar, battery energy storage systems and hydrotreated vegetable oil to fuel race weekends.
Last month, McLaren and the FIA also announced the Circularity Handbook, a document designed to streamline sustainable practices for sourcing and disposing of Formula 1 car materials. McLaren was the first team to use recycled carbon fiber and has spearheaded sustainable sourcing in the sport. While the handbook isn’t required for teams and instead acts as a guide, it is the first step toward weaving sustainable material sourcing into the technical regulations that define the formula behind Formula 1.
What I’ve been writing, reading and obsessed with this week
It Must Be Nice to Be a West Village Girl - The Cut, Brock Coylar
A Crucial River Treaty is Tangled in Trump’s Feud With Canada - The New York Times, Karen Weise
Maple Leafs hit rock bottom - The Athletic Hockey Show
