(Motorsport-Total.com) – The FIA has updated the racing guidelines ahead of the start of the new 2026 Formula 1 season and announced that it will be somewhat more generous in its assessment and hand out fewer penalties. This also includes an adjustment to penalty points, which are also to be distributed for fewer offenses.
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The assessment of wheel-to-wheel racing was a major point of contention last year. Above all, the issue of consistency was repeatedly criticized by the drivers, as was the general regulation, which led to strange driving maneuvers where drivers behaved in such a way that they would be in the right strictly according to the rulebook.
Because the stewards were often accused of treating the racing guidelines as strict law instead of merely using them as a basis for an informed decision.
This led to a meeting between teams, drivers, and the FIA at the penultimate race in Qatar, the result of which can now be seen in the newly adjusted guidelines.
One of the biggest changes concerns locking the wheels, which no longer automatically implies that a driver has lost control, as this can actually be attributed to the laws of physics or the mere attempt to avoid another car.
In case of doubt, the stewards will show leniency in this circumstance. In addition, according to the FIA, they will recognize that during an overtaking maneuver, the other car cannot simply disappear once a vehicle has gained the right to the corner. In general, the stewards are to be given “more flexibility” in implementing the standards.
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This also includes penalty points, where a change is being introduced: these will only be awarded for “dangerous, reckless, or obviously intentional actions that lead to a collision,” or for “other unacceptable or unsportsmanlike behavior.”
These are the penalty points the drivers will start the 2026 Formula 1 season with
However, it still applies: if a driver collects twelve penalty points within one year, they will be suspended for one race – like Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in Baku in 2024.
Elsewhere, there are now stricter guidelines for defending drivers who leave the track. The guidelines now state: “If a car leaves the track [or cuts a chicane] while defending a position and returns to the track in the same position, this will generally be considered by the stewards as having gained a lasting advantage.”
“Therefore, the position should generally be returned. It is at the sole discretion of the stewards to determine whether the driver of a car is defending a position.”
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