Romain Grosjean, Lotus E20 is launched over the top of Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F2012
In Formula 1, regulations cover everything from the flexibility of wings, to how long mechanics should spend at the track, to how much time teams spend in the wind tunnel. Once the cars are racing, the regulations continue to pile on -- from track limits to moving for slower cars -- for which the rule-breakers often need to serve their time during the race or suffer a more serious penalty, such as starting from the pit lane.
Teams often take the brunt of the offenses seen during a race weekend, ranging from grid penalties to financial fines to be paid by the team. If a specific code of conduct isn't followed, teams are most often held responsible. For example, if a driver isn't notified in time that a faster car is approaching (during free practice or qualifying), or mechanics leave the grid too late before a Grand Prix, it is the teams who are fined, penalized, or sanctioned.
There's a whole other world of hurt, however, for drivers who break the rules.
With recent controversy over F1 drivers being fined for swearing -- and subsequently asking the FIA to treat them like 'adults' -- F1 driver fines are not going anywhere. Moreover, in recent years, it is rare to have drivers escape fines.
As of 2023, F1 drivers can be fined a maximum of €1 million. If this figure seems excessive, you may be correct: no current driver has yet to be fined this amount. Wondering what they can be fined for?
To put things into perspective for future decisions involving driver fines, here are some of the most serious F1 driver punishments handed out as a financial penalty.
It wouldn't be Formula 1 without grey areas of interpretation. For stewards, trying to police close, hard battles in some of the world's fastest racing cars is never an easy job, but financial fines are sometimes used when an incident goes beyond a racing mistake and into situations involving multiple competitors.
For instance, watch Romain Grosjean's start to the 2012 Belgian GP. He cleaned out five cars, including two championship contenders, earning a one race ban and €50,000 fine, due in full.
Before that moment, fines for on-track collisions were relatively uncommon; one of the more memorable incidents includes the one that Eddie Irvine triggered at the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Fighting with Jos Verstappen and approaching a lapped car (in the last year before blue flags were introduced), Irvine moved to pass the slower car, not noticing that Verstappen had already pulled alongside.
Once pushed onto the grass to avoid Irvine, Verstappen spun across the track and collected a fourth car -- Martin Brundle's McLaren who was ahead of the pack and slowing for the corner ahead. As Verstappen's car launched, the right rear tire visibly hit Brundle's helmet as he helplessly spun toward the grass. Miraculously, Brundle escaped serious injury.
When Irvine was fined $10,000 Usd. (€6,700) and given a race ban for triggering the incident, his Jordan team appealed and the race ban was changed to a three-race ban.
At the 2012 British Grand Prix, Sergio Perez was battling Pastor Maldonado. Defending from the inside, Maldonado's car slid into Perez, knocking Checo out of the race. The stewards gave Maldonado's driving a €10,000 fine and reprimand which was deemed by some to be too lenient at the time.
Given an incident by Perez' teammate in the same race, perhaps not. In Formula 1, it costs more to drive into your team members than teammates.
Approaching his pit stop at the 2012 British Grand Prix, Kamui Kobayashi bowled over a few of his Sauber mechanics, two of whom required medical attention. Kobayashi was fined €25,000 for the incident and had this to say to the press: "I am terribly sorry this happened, and I hope the three mechanics I hit get well soon."
If there's a guaranteed fine that F1 drivers can pick up, it's for crossing the track during a session when cars are on track. It's one of the more consistent penalties handed out in recent years, and significant.
In 2023 at the Qatar GP, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided at the first corner on the opening lap, sending Hamilton out of the race. Returning to the pits, he crossed the track during a safety car, picking up a €50,000 fine, with half of it suspended.
Likewise, at the start of the 2024 Miami GP, Lando Norris received a €50,000 fine, half of it suspended, for crossing the track during the sprint race while the safety car had been deployed.
Carlos Sainz was fined €25,000 for crossing the track after a Q3 crash during the 2024 Singapore GP weekend, with €12,500 suspended if no other incidents occurred in the season. None did.
Past Formula 1 seasons are sometimes characterized as a freewheeling, daring circus with little regard to safety and a laissez faire attitude toward behavior expected from drivers. In moments, this may have been true -- but that doesn't mean some drivers didn't deserve to be fined.
In 1977, James Hunt was in a dogfight with Mario Andretti for the win at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park. The two drivers had lapped the field up to third position, held by Hunt's McLaren teammate, Jochen Mass. As the leaders came through to lap Mass, the McLarens collided -- sending Hunt out of the race from the front.
Obviously furious, Hunt gestured toward his teammate Mass (who'd go on to finish third), before directing his rage at a volunteer race marshal named Ernie Strong who had come over to check on the McLaren driver. Hunt turned and inexplicably swung a punch, knocking down Strong.
Realizing what he'd done, Hunt then offered help, but the damage was done: Hunt was fined the then-maximum of $2,000, plus $750 for returning to the pits in an unsafe manner.
Remember in 2022 at the Singapore GP when Lewis Hamilton was called before the stewards for running afoul of restrictions on body jewelry, where the former Mercedes driver was granted an exception because he was not able to easily remove it?
This item was a nose stud, which had originally been soldered in and semi-permanently attached. When attempting to swap this with a piercing that could be easily removed, Lewis picked up a lingering nose infection. Some races on, the FIA was tipped off that Lewis was still wearing jewelry on track and he was summoned to the stewards.
Doctor's note in hand, it was explained that the jewelry needed to stay while Lewis' nose healed -- and the world champion escaped a fine. (The stewards, in a giving mood, then turned around and fined Mercedes €25,000 for incorrectly filling out a self-reporting form that stated Lewis hadn't been wearing jewelry on track.)
While driver language has been a hot topic in 2024, the case everyone remembers with Max Verstappen resulted in the world champion being given community service, deemed to be a "greater penalty" than a one-time financial fine.
Compared with Yuki Tsunoda, however, Verstappen's "fine" was almost kind. Held up by another car during qualifying at the 2024 Austrian GP, Tsunoda said, "these guys are f***ing retarded" -- landing him a €40,000 fine, with half suspended provided that no similar incidents occurred in 2024.
Charles Leclerc is the third driver in 2024 to be handed a penalty over swearing, this time in the post-race press conference at the Mexico GP. Earnestly reacting to an on-track battle, Leclerc's use of the F-word cost him €10,000, with half suspended for 12 months if his language remains clean.
Because this is a story about F1 driver fines, we can't omit the fine that retired F1 driver Nelson Piquet Sr. was given by a Brazilian court after remarks he said about Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's crash at the 2021 British Grand Prix. With his comments toward Hamilton deemed racist and homophobic, the court fined Piquet Sr. 5 million reals, the equivalent of $950,000.
Sebastien Vettel not only proved his worth on-track as a world champion, but also to the FIA stewards for his creative ways of picking up fines.
In 2018 at the Brazilian GP, stewards cited the German for "weighbridge misconduct" after qualifying, where Vettel's harried hand gestures and driving left a set of destroyed scales in his wake. Alleged cost to the FIA? €25,000.
At the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, Vettel stormed out of the Driver's Meeting -- this is not allowed. Once calm, Vettel apologized and was noted for having a constructive conversation with the officials. Subsequently, the FIA handed him a fine of €25,000, with all of it suspended provided no further breaches by Vettel that year.
Earlier in 2022, Vettel famously hopped onto a marshal's scooter once FP1 had ended, returning to the pits after his Aston Martin stopped at the side of the track. Problem is, scooters aren't allowed on track without permission from race control.
If you watch the official replay of this session and skip ahead to 1:09:00, you'll notice what may have gotten him into more trouble: his race helmet was half on his head, he was waving to the crowd, he rode through a few corners, and it was all captured on the world broadcast feed. This friendly scoot back to the garage cost Vettel €5,000.
It may have culminated in a single moment, but 2021 contained a few strange penalties for the drivers' championship contenders.
After qualifying and out of his car at the 2021 Brazilian GP, Max Verstappen touched the rear wing of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in parc ferme, which is a breach of Article 2.5.1 of the International Sporting Code. Verstappen was swiftly handed a €50,000 fine -- which, in hindsight, he could have used to buy his own Mercedes.
The following day was a turning point in the world championship, with Hamilton winning the race from 10th on the grid. Elated, Hamilton undid his safety harness during the victory lap, however, this was seen worldwide and deemed by officials as a bad example to set for "junior category drivers." Hamilton was fined €5,000, with a further €20,000 suspended through the end of 2022.
Weirdly for F1, the 2024 Brazilian GP saw two drivers fined for the same breach of regulations. This time, Lando Norris and George Russell proceeded to drive away from the grid after the 'Aborted Start' signal had been displayed. Cost? €5,000 each.
In 2022, three drivers picked up the same fine for the same thing: having their personal physios in parc ferme. Leclerc, Hamilton, and Verstappen were each handed €10,000 fine by the FIA for this breach of regulations at the Austrian GP.
Finally, the unique case of a fine being the preferred option.
Early on in a fiercely contested 2003 season, Williams driver Ralf Schumacher found himself fighting with rivals for the lead of the drivers' world championship. A first-lap incident at the German GP saw Schumacher handed a 10-place grid drop penalty for causing a collision and taking three cars out of winning contention.
The Williams team appealed this ruling, losing the appeal. However, given the championship implications, the 10-place grid penalty for the next race was deemed inappropriate and changed to a fine instead: $50,000.
Kimi Räikkonen, who had been taken out in the crash with Ralf Schumacher earlier in the year, finished the drivers' championship only two points behind Ralf's brother, Michael Schumacher.