As the FIA president considers a change of tact with Formula 1 drivers, is it time we gave Grand Prix gladiators more sway with the governing body?
Under FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, F1 drivers have endured a series of sagas, with both parties being opposed. The conflict reached fever pitch last year as Ben Sulayem cracked the whip on driver fines and swearing punishments and the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association published an open letter questioning the FIA president’s actions.
Swearing punishments were heightened this year, but after significant backlash from F1 drivers and even more from the contingent in the World Rally Championship, Ben Sulayem recently revealed that he would consider easing the punishments that he had proposed.
George Russell has called for action rather than words, but given that the open letter the GPDA penned last year still hasn’t been directly responded to, the matter of whether drivers should have a greater dialogue with the sport’s rule makers and political figures is of paramount importance.
Motorsport Week asked Russell, a director of the GPDA, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, whether he’d relish structured meetings with the FIA.
“I feel it’s like unprecedented times we’ve been in over the last 18 months with what’s been changed and what’s happening,” Russell said last Thursday. “I think when the GPDA was founded years ago, it wasn’t really to talk about politics – it was to talk about safety, improvements of the sport, improvements of the racing. Especially myself – I find myself talking about topics that I didn’t really have any intention of talking about. But we find ourselves in a time where we’re not focused on the things why we’re all here. We’re here to go racing, we’re here to create the best show for the fans, to have the fastest cars, the safest cars, the best technology, the best engineering – and yet we talk about fines and punishments and swearing. So yeah, maybe something should change. We’re open to it, but we just ultimately want the best for the sport.”
Russell’s erstwhile Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, called for F1 drivers to have a seat of power within the FIA to improve the dialogue between the respective parties.
“I think ultimately the GPDA is very unified,” added Hamilton. “I think we are working to… ultimately we want to be able to work closely with the FIA. I think everyone – all of us – want to work together and make the sport better. Of course, we’ve faced a bit of an uphill challenge in that communication over time. Ultimately, we don’t hold a power seat at the table, and that needs to change, in my opinion. If you look at other sports that have unions, that may be something that comes into play at some stage. As I said, we don’t want to control things – we just want to collaborate more and have our voices heard. Ultimately, if people are making decisions for others who have never been in that position, it’s good to have the point of view from the driver’s perspective, and that’s all we try to give.”
Probing further, Motorsport Week put Hamilton’s comments in particular to both Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, to see if they would welcome the incumbent F1 drivers, via the GPDA or otherwise, holding a formal seat within the FIA’s governance.
Wolff, ever the diplomat, said that F1 drivers are recognised “informally” already, but stopped short at making a statement as definitive as Hamilton’s 24 hours earlier.
“Over the years that I’ve been in Formula 1, you’ve had times of a more vocal GPDA and then at times not,” Wolff said. “And I think now, there’s a few good voices speaking for the drivers that are measured and manage to come up with the right inputs. They are just another stakeholder in the sport and, as such, even if not formally, they’re very well recognised informally. Listening to their opinions is important. We – at least the teams – are very much attentive to them.”
Horner, meanwhile, was more assertive. “Yeah, look, the drivers have an important voice,” he said. “Personally, I’d be very open to them having a seat at the table. They’ve always got an important perspective. So, yeah, why not?”
It seems a fanciful notion given the opposition between the GPDA and FIA president Ben Sulayem, especially since last year’s open letter was never met with a formal response. Perhaps in another presidency, this is something that could come to pass, but with Ben Sulayem up for re-election this winter and no formal challenge presenting itself, the status quo could remain, meaning more tension between the two camps appears inevitable.
READ MORE – F1 drivers have held ‘fair discussion’ with FIA over swearing rules
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