FIA tightens Driving Standards Guidelines as penalty points threshold narrowed

The FIA has released updated Driving Standards Guidelines for the 2026 season, which tighten up suggested rules around penalty points and offer fresh guidance around overtaking.

While the DSGs are to be treated simply as guidelines and are not official FIA regulations, the governing body works on these guidelines alongside teams and drivers to create a unified guide as to how to expect to go racing on track.

FIA narrows penalty points guidance in updated 2026 Driving Standards Guidelines

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

The guidelines have come into focus in recent years over how overtaking rules are applied in particular, with priority often given to the car on the inside when enough of the overtaking car is alongside the front axle of the car ahead.

However, when any infractions have often been accompanied with penalty points by the FIA stewards, we can potentially expect to see fewer points given out this season.

Instead, the stewards will only impose penalty points in incidents regarding “dangerous, reckless or apparently deliberate actions resulting in a collision or for other unacceptable or unsportsmanlike behaviour.”

Of the current drivers, penalty point infractions have occurred for offences such as driving in a manner deemed potentially dangerous, more than one change of direction while defending a position, forcing another driver beyond track limits and erratic driving.

Now, these guidelines have appeared to narrow the window in which penalty points should be awarded.

This will be good news for drivers currently on high totals, with Haas’ Oliver Bearman needing to navigate the first third of the season sitting two points away from a race ban.

Carlos Sainz also saw penalty points removed from his licence on appeal, after contact with Liam Lawson at last season’s Dutch Grand Prix, with penalty points now unlikely to be issued in cases of minor contact.

More about Formula 1’s rules and regulations

What happens if an F1 team is found in breach of the FIA budget cap?

Explained: What is ‘parc fermé’ and how does the FIA enforce it?

Further guidelines updated as FIA receives driver input

The FIA stated that a meeting with the drivers at last season’s Qatar Grand Prix gave the grid input into the updated guidelines, which will come into practice at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

For other key takeaways, the FIA stated that more flexibility will be used by the stewards this season in imposing the guidelines, which should offer the chance to look at each incident on its merits.

Likewise, for anyone looking to exploit the overtaking guideline which states cars far enough alongside on the inside have priority, the stewards will also take a view that ‘the other car cannot simply disappear’, to give credence to both drivers in an overtaking manoeuvre.

Also, in incidents caused by a driver crashing while looking to avoid a collision, such as moving off-line in the wet on slick tyres, leniency will be shown and the “laws of physics” will prove a factor in any temporary loss of control.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Charles Leclerc says Mercedes ‘clearly very strong’ and admits Ferrari risk ‘didn’t work out’