Section 7: Violations & Penalties
7.1 Regulatory Framework — Sporting Regulations, Article B1.9
Penalties in Formula 1 are imposed by the stewards under Article B1.9 of the Sporting Regulations ("Incidents, Infringements & Penalties"), or administratively by the Race Director for defined infringements. Under Article B1.9.3, unless it is clear to the stewards that a driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for an Incident, no penalty will be imposed.
7.2 Race Penalties — Sporting Regulations, Article B1.9.5
In the event of an Incident during a Total Time Classified Session (i.e. a Sprint or the Race), the stewards may impose any one of the following penalties:
- 5-Second Penalty: The driver must enter the Pit Lane, stop in their Designated Pit Stop Position for at least five seconds, and re-join.
- 10-Second Penalty: As above, but a stop of at least ten seconds.
- Drive-Through Penalty: The driver must enter the Pit Lane and re-join without stopping.
- Stop-and-Go Penalty: A ten-second stop-and-go time penalty — the driver must enter the Pit Lane, stop in their Designated Pit Stop Position for at least ten seconds, and re-join.
- Time Penalty: A defined number of seconds added to the driver's total race time.
- Driver Reprimand: Any driver who receives five (5) reprimands in the same Championship, at least four (4) of which for a driving infringement, is given a ten (10) grid-place penalty upon the fifth (Article B1.9.5f).
- Competitor (F1 Team) Reprimand.
- Grid-Position Drop: A drop of any number of grid positions for the driver's next Sprint or Race within the subsequent twelve (12) months.
- Disqualification (DSQ): The driver and car are excluded from the results of the relevant session or race; any points scored are rescinded.
- Suspension from the driver's next Competition.
If either a Drive-Through Penalty or a Stop-and-Go Penalty is imposed during the last three laps of a session, the driver may cross the Line up to three times to serve it, and 20 seconds (Drive-Through) or 30 seconds (Stop-and-Go) is added to the driver's elapsed time instead (Article B1.9.6c).
7.3 Driving Infringements (Sporting Regulations, Articles B1.8 and B1.9)
- Collision causing a retirement: Typically investigated and may result in a time penalty or grid drop, depending on fault determination by the stewards.
- Forcing a driver off track / making contact: Investigated as an Incident under Article B1.9; penalties range from a time penalty to a grid drop.
- Unsafe release from pit stop: A breach of Article B1.6.2 (Pit Lane Safety); typically a 5-second penalty.
- Speeding in the pit lane: A fine of €100 per km/h over the limit (maximum €1,000) during practice or qualifying sessions, plus a possible stewards' penalty; during a Sprint or Race, a 5-Second, 10-Second, Drive-Through, or Stop-and-Go Penalty (Article B1.6.3).
- Entering a closed Pit Lane without justifiable reason: A penalty under Article B1.9.4 (practice/qualifying) or a mandatory Stop-and-Go Penalty (Sprint/Race), per Article B1.6.4.
- False start (jumping the lights): Investigated as an Incident under the false-start provisions of Article B5.11.
7.4 Technical Infringements
- Car below minimum weight: Disqualification from the relevant session or race results, per Technical Regulations Article 4.2.
- Illegal fuel / fuel composition: Disqualification from the race results.
- Exceeding fuel flow rate: Disqualification from the race results (Technical Regulations, Article 5.1.4; has been enforced — e.g., Sebastian Vettel DSQ at the Australian GP 2014).
- Power Unit component substitutions exceeding allocation: Grid penalty under Article B8.2.8 of the Sporting Regulations.
7.5 Power Unit Component Penalty Rules — Sporting Regulations, Article B8.2
For the 2026 Championship, the Power Unit component allocation is defined as follows per driver, per Championship (Article B8.2.2), unless the driver drives for more than one Competitor:
- Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 3 units
- Turbocharger (TC): 3 units
- Exhaust sets (EXH): 3 units
- Energy Store (ES): 2 units
- Control Electronics units (PU-CE): 2 units (each)
- Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K): 2 units
- Power Unit ancillary components (PU-ANC): 5 units (each)
An additional unit of each element is permitted in the 2026 Championship, and for a PU Manufacturer's first year of supplying Power Units (Article B8.2.3). Under Article B8.2.8, exceeding these allocations triggers a grid-place penalty at the first Competition an additional element is used: a ten (10) grid-place penalty for the first additional element of each type, and a five (5) grid-place penalty for each subsequent additional element of that type, applied cumulatively.
7.6 Sporting Exclusion and Championship Points Deductions
Under the FIA International Sporting Code, the FIA World Motor Sport Council has authority to impose penalties on Competitors or drivers beyond the stewards' immediate powers, including exclusion from the championship, fines up to the amounts specified in the ISC, points deductions, and bans from attending events.
Notable precedents include Red Bull Racing being found to have exceeded the Cost Cap in 2021 (announced October 2022), resulting in a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic testing time for 2023 under the Financial Regulations enforcement framework.
7.7 Protest Procedure
A Competitor wishing to protest a decision must lodge a formal protest with the Clerk of the Course no later than 30 minutes after the session or race results are published. A protest deposit (as specified in the national ASN or FIA schedule of fees) must be lodged with the protest. The stewards will convene to hear the protest and issue a decision. Appeals against stewards' decisions may be made to the FIA International Court of Appeal within a defined time limit, save for the categories of decision that Article B1.9.7 places beyond appeal.