The FIA has launched two new sets of safety guidelines on helmet and safety clothing regulation for competitors and scrutineers, funded through the FIA Foundation’s Motor Sport Safety Grant.

Two new brochures – ‘FIA Standard Guidelines – Protective Clothing’ and ‘FIA Standard Guidelines – Helmets’ are designed to present all relevant regulations in a user-friendly format to promote familiarity and compliance.

As part of the FIA’s ongoing mission to promote safe motor sport worldwide, the clothing guidelines provide competitors with information on the importance of using the correct competition wear, tips on selecting the right products, explains how to correctly use homologated clothing – including race suits, balaclavas and undergarments – and offer advice on customisation, maintenance as well the correct fitment of accessories such as biometric devices and padding. The scrutineering section, meanwhile, gives officials an overview of pre-event control, including technical lists, the correct positioning of FIA labels, what they should feature and a handy checklist to ensure compliance.

The second booklet, ‘FIA Standard Guidelines – Helmets’ features references to all helmet regulations, showing the standards recognised by the FIA and offering advice on selecting the right products and warning competitors about some of the most common, and critical, mistakes made in modifying helmets. The scrutineers section presents pre-event control advice, with a visual guide to accepted standards.

These brochures are the first of a complete set of Safety Equipment Guidelines planned for release throughout 2024 which will include guidance on such as seats, safety harnesses, racing nets, karting clothing, extinguishers, biometric devices, FHR devices and safety fuel tanks.

Welcoming the publication of the new guidelines, FIA Safety Director Nuno Costa said: “FIA safety regulations in relation to equipment are spread across several different sets of regulations, from FIA Standards and FIA Homologation Regulations for Safety Equipment to the International Sporting and specific Technical and Sporting Regulations. Add in the fact that they are carefully written to avoid ‘grey areas’ and it means that there is no user-friendly manual to help competitors and scrutineers easily understand how they can comply. The two new sets of guidelines we are publishing today, and the sets to come in the future, do just that. Each one lets drivers know what they must have and how it should be used, or not used, while also providing scrutineers with a handy guide to what to look out for.

“A key aspect of these new sets of guidelines is that they are also ‘living documents’ and will be updated as new standards are implemented and as new regulations are written and applied. Safety in motor sport is all about every stakeholder having a clear understanding of what they need to do and these guidelines make that process simple and accessible for everyone.”

Read the Standard Guidelines - Protective Clothing here and FIA Standard Guidelines – Helmets here.