The FIA's head of single-seater racing, Nikolas Tombazis has responded following questions over where the money raised by the fines imposed on drivers actually goes.

The thorny issue arose as part of the reaction to Mohammed ben Sulayem's clampdown on swearing, not to mention previous regulatory steps concerning underwear and jewellery.

Calling on the FIA president to treat drivers like adults, Grand Prix Drivers' Association director, George Russell, also asked for transparency, particularly in terms of where the money raised by fines imposed on drivers ends up.

The Mercedes driver, recalling the election process in 2021 which saw Ben Sulayem take over from Jean Todt, said that drivers had been promised the money would be channelled into grass roots racing.

Talking to Motorsport.com, Tombazis was keen to assure Russell and his colleagues that the money is being reinvested in the sport.

"The FIA is not a profit-making organisation," he said. "We don't have shareholders who are looking at some numbers in the stock exchange and hoping for share price to go up or get more dividends or anything like that.

"I think this question is sometimes slightly influenced by the emotions of the moment, of whatever fine is being discussed and so on," he continued. "I realise that anyone who is paying a fine is always slightly annoyed about it and may feel somewhat aggrieved, but for sure there are so many different levels of projects that you can never come to the conclusion that this money is somehow spent for Christmas parties and so on.

"The amount of money spent in grassroots vastly exceeds the fines accumulated," he insisted, "which I think indicates that anything that goes in there will have a positive impact."

Keen to emphasise that the money is invested in those areas of the sport that need it, he said: "What I can say with absolute certainty is that fines of drivers in one sport don't subsidise another sport or another category or something like that.

"If you look at other initiatives, whether it is our campaigns, like the one about online abuse and all the grassroots we've been talking about before, or safety projects, I believe are noble ways of spending such money. And this money does contribute to that.

"There's about €10.3 million spent on grassroots, for many clubs, for many countries," he added, "just to promote a range of projects of early motorsport activity, and I think that is very important.

"Ultimately, I think the health of Formula 1 is largely dependent on the overall appeal of motorsport. It's not just having an exciting grand prix, but it's also having more people who generally even do some relatively low level of grassroots level of motorsport in their country. I think that's going to be ultimately beneficial for Formula 1.

"The other part, of course, is in order to select drivers for the future, how drivers can grow into the ladder and have the opportunity to do so even if they're maybe not coming from a wealthy family, for example. That is what is ultimately the key aim."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Mad Matt, 23/01/2025 11:08

"I agree @kenji I also had a look and as far as I can see (removing suspended fines) the FIA fines in 2024 came to €270K... of which 75K alone was for Carlos and Lando crossing a "live" track.

While that's a lot of money for someone like me it's a rounding error for the FIA, I think Red Bull alone paid over €6 million for their entry fee for example."

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2. Posted by kenji, 22/01/2025 12:22

"@ Mad Matt Should be in the annual accounts accounted for as 'other income, fines and levies' and taken up in general revenue. Where it actually ends up is of no consequence or business of the drivers. Just a bit of look at me as a diversion."

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3. Posted by Mad Matt, 21/01/2025 11:02

"While I'm happy to question the rules and the conduct of the FIA it feels like drivers are trying to avoid the point here.

They get fined because they've done something wrong, they either didn't appeal or lost their appeals. While I agree that stewarding decisions seem inconsistent sometimes the drivers questioning where the fines go is just them trying to distract us from what they did wrong.

It seems to me that the drivers shouting the loudest are the ones who know they were caught "bang to rights" :-)"

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4. Posted by hussainahm, 21/01/2025 5:08

"@Celtic Tiger not-for-profits just like governments don’t want to be in a deficit financially. Any profits made are kept and reinvested in the organization, as opposed to for-profits who would distribute profits to shareholders therefore the money leaves the organization. You always want to have more income than expenses, whether you’re for-profit or not."

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5. Posted by moomoo, 20/01/2025 18:15

"What a stupid notion! Of course it's not....."

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6. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 19/01/2025 19:54

"So, how would he explain the "presidents fund" established by MBS? If the FIA isn't profit driven why does MBS brag about how the organization is operating in the pluses since he took over? And what does online abuse programs have to do with "grassroots" racing?
It smells like puff PR by Tombazis to deflect the scrutiny from Captain Corrupto and his shady mismanagement of funds."

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Fine money not used for Christmas parties, says Tombazis

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