Breaking news: FIA Fines Ferrari €5,000 Following… readmore
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has issued a €5,000 fine to Scuderia Ferrari after a regulatory infraction during the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend. The penalty follows an incident involving Charles Leclerc during Friday’s Free Practice session at the Imola circuit, where the team was found to have violated a specific technical directive related to tyre handling procedures.
After Free Practice concluded, Ferrari was called to appear before the stewards for an investigation into a potential breach of Technical Directive 003Q, point 2.g.ii. This directive governs the proper handling and adjustment of tyres during Formula 1 sessions, particularly focusing on processes such as pressure adjustments. Upon review, the FIA determined that Ferrari failed to follow the outlined procedures, which include the requirement to obtain accurate tyre temperatures before making any changes to tyre pressures.
According to the FIA’s official statement, “Technical Directive 003G, point 2.g.ii, allows a tyre to be used more than once in the same session but outlines strict guidelines for doing so. If a team intends to modify the tyre pressure, they must first gather tyre temperature data.” Ferrari’s team representative admitted during the stewards’ hearing that this step was skipped, directly violating Article 30.5 a) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
Because the incident occurred during a practice session and not during qualifying or the race itself, the FIA opted not to impose a sporting penalty such as grid drops or time penalties. Instead, the stewards issued a monetary fine consistent with past incidents of a similar nature. The FIA emphasized that, while the infringement did not pose an immediate competitive advantage, the procedures are in place for safety and standardization purposes and must be respected at all times.
This is not the first instance of a team facing such a penalty. A notable parallel can be drawn to the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, where the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team found itself in hot water for a comparable offence. In that case, tyre pressures on both Lewis Hamilton’s and George Russell’s cars were altered after the tyres had already been fitted and before the start of the race. The start of that race had been delayed by ten minutes, leading to confusion in the garage. Although the drivers were not handed any sporting penalties, the team was fined €5,000 for each car, totaling €10,000.
The FIA’s consistent handling of these cases highlights their commitment to enforcing technical compliance regardless of session type or team status. It also sends a clear message to all teams on the grid that even minor oversights in procedural execution can result in financial penalties.
For Ferrari, this fine serves as a cautionary reminder of the importance of following every detail of the technical guidelines, particularly in high-stakes environments where oversight can be costly, even outside of race conditions.
