Formula 1 teams and the FIA are to discuss increasing deposit fees for protests and similar appeals to stop frivolous complaints in the future.

The topic was put on to the agenda for a meeting of the F1 Commission that took place in London on Wednesday in the wake of a run of rejected Red Bull protests this season.

Complaints that the squad had launched against George Russell in Miami for not slowing down for yellow flags, and then for his behaviour behind the safety car in Canada, were both thrown out by the FIA.

But the affairs caused annoyance to other teams and left doubts about the results of races until many hours after the chequered flag – prompting calls for a new system to be brought into play.

In particular, it was suggested that the fees that must be deposited for official complaints should be increased, so teams are less willing to launch a protest not based on solid ground.

Russell himself had suggested that the current €2000 fee that must accompany an official FIA protest was nowhere near big enough to be a proper deterrent for frivolous action.

“When you look at the financial penalties that go around for saying a swear word in the heat of the moment or touching a rear wing or whatever, €2000 for a team that is making nine-figure profits is not going to even touch the sides,” said Russell. 

“It’s not going to be thought about twice. If that was a six figure sum to put down, maybe they would think twice about it.”

Following discussions in the F1 Commission, it was agreed that the idea of increasing the fees should be taken further – and potentially also include requests to investigate rival cars.

A statement issued after the F1 Commission meeting said: “It was agreed that the deposit fees for protests, appeals and right of reviews should be evaluated with a view to those fees being adjusted.

“The introduction of a fee for investigations was also discussed.”

The latter idea was something that McLaren CEO Zak Brown mentioned earlier this year that had become an issue – with Red Bull repeatedly pushing for answers over McLaren’s tyre cooling secrets.

Speaking in Miami in May about informal complaints made against his team, Brown has said: “Teams have historically made allegations of other teams [doing wrong]. Most recently, one team focuses on that strategy more than others.

“And I think that there’s a proper way to protest a team at the end of the race, and you have to make a [case]; it’s formal, disclose where it comes from, put some money down.

“That process should be extended to all allegations to stop the frivolous allegations which are intended only to be a distraction.”

F1 fanbase update

The F1 Commission also included an update presented by FOM on the continued growth of the championship. It estimated F1’s global fanbase now stood at 827million with a year-on-year increase of more than 10%.

It is estimated that 43% of the total fanbase is under 35 years old, while 42% are female.