Overview
- Penalty points will now be issued only for dangerous, reckless or apparently deliberate collisions, or for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- New leniency caveats instruct stewards to weigh attempts to avoid contact, brief loss of control such as lock-ups, variable apex lines, and the fact a rival car cannot simply disappear.
- Revised yellow-flag guidance introduces suggested benchmarks to show compliance: about a 5% sector-time increase for single waved yellows and 15% for double waved, with driver inputs closely reviewed.
- Tweaks allow deletion of track-limits breaches tied to failed overtakes with no advantage gained and promote holistic judging of chicanes, S-bends and multi‑apex or long‑radius corners.
- The guidance clarifies that very light contact may warrant no penalty while enabling disqualification or a next‑race suspension for very extreme deliberate or reckless collisions; the overhaul follows Lusail talks and applies from 2026 with immediate relevance to drivers near 12 points such as Oliver Bearman on 10.