It Was Inevitable That New FIA Swearing Penalties Would Hit WRC First

"We f**ked up yesterday," blurted Adrien Fourmaux following the final stage of last weekend's Rally Sweden. The French Hyundai factory rallyist stuffed his i20 N Rally1 car into a snowbank on Saturday, which took him out of contention for the overall victory. He was also penalized for forgetting to do up the clasp on his helmet. I'd say that's pretty much the dictionary definition of "we f**ked up." Fourmaux's comments were broadcast live on Rally.TV, and thus he became the first racer to be penalized under the FIA's new Article 12.2.1.1 rule against cussing, receiving a for his language

Rally drivers are notoriously foul-mouthed. In fact it is often noted that sailors cuss like the WRC paddock. With an earlier start to their season, and a reputation for vulgarities, it was bound to be a WRC driver hit with the first fine for swears. Last weekend's Formula E double-header in Jeddah also saw quite a lot of bipped radio swears, though apparently none of the drivers were hit with similar fines.

Here's the situation, as noted in the stewards' report from the event:

"He was referring to the mistake(s) he had made on the previous day (Saturday, February 15th, 2025) and that he used the words in a colloquial and descriptive way, in the sense that he had made a mistake. He apologized as he did not mean to offend or insult anyone by using those words.

"The stewards reminded the driver and the team representative of the stance of the FIA regarding not only inappropriate language but also verbal/physical abuse, and making/displaying political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes.

"The stewards and the FIA acknowledge that the words in question have unfortunately become common colloquialisms. However, it is essential to emphasize that this does not diminish the fact that such language is widely regarded as profanity and is inappropriate in public discourse, including live television broadcasts."

Fourmaux was given leniency by the stewards in the matter because English is not his native language, this was his first recorded incident of breaking the new rule, the remark was self-referential and not intended to cause offense, and he issued an unprompted public apology to the stewards and the fans. He says he will "exercise greater caution in the future." As a result of these conditions, $21,000 of the fine has been suspended for 12 months, and will be erased from his ledger if he doesn't commit any more egregious swears.

The new rule is pretty draconian as language policing goes. A first offense comes with a minimum fine of $10,500. If you're caught swearing again it comes with a minimum $21,000 fine. A third offense is met with a $31,500 fine, a one-month FIA competition suspension, and a deduction of Championship points. The monetary value of these fines is multiplied by a factor of four when the offending driver is in the Formula One paddock.

I, for one, think it's pretty f**ked up of the FIA to issue these ridiculous penalties. A misplaced "f**k" or a flying middle finger have the potential to make or break a championship run.