I'm surprised, largely because the usual way of handling this is a nominal fine for the driver or team involved. (Scott Speed got the last one of these, using a curse word against a steward in a disciplinary meeting and getting docked $5000 in response. I believe Toro Rosso footed the bill because it boosted the image they wanted at the time). Admittedly, only an outright insult against a role occupied by volunteer in motorsports is eligible for the penalty, but it's there to prevent referee abuse and making the role less attractive to volunteers (after all, people may see this sort of thing and worry that people further down the ladder might consider following suit a good idea).
Stewards are necessary for making motorsports work, and it is for that reason the FIA is so strict in preventing its volunteers from getting abuse. Paid staff (such as the F1 race director) and senior officials such as the President (who are assumed to be doing this as a job, despite some roles not being paid) don't get the same level of protection, and a quick apology generally gets one out of trouble.
This is deemed completely separate to safety-related regulations by the FIA, since without volunteers, there wouldn't be an F1 for any sporting infractions to be possible.