Former Formula 1 driver and Grand Prix Drivers Association [GPDA] Chairman Alexander Wurz has revealed the union’s WhatsApp group is “absolutely blowing up” with ideas on how to change the current and controversial new regulations cycle.
The sport is currently in the midst of wading through perhaps its most radical and polarising set of technical regulations in its history.
With new hybrid engines equal in its combustion and electric capacities, many drivers have publicly conveyed their displeasure of how it has translated into on-track action.
The overtake modes within the car require a boost of electric energy, which is largely expended when performing an overtake, leading to the overtaken quickly becoming the overtaker.
Max Verstappen has been the leading opponent to the new ruleset, with Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc all voicing their unhappiness with them.
After Oliver Bearman’s frightening accident at last week’s Japanese Grand Prix – in which he swerved to avoid a recharging, and therefore slow Franco Colapinto – GPDA director Carlos Sainz publicly rebuked the FIA’s alleged unwillingness to act on making tweaks to avoid such instances.
And Wurz, who raced between 1997 and 2007, revealed on the Lift and Roast podcast that the drivers’ union’s WhatsApp group was fraught with suggestions to improve the current situation.
“That famous WhatsApp group we’ve got, which I set up back in 2015 or 2016 — it’s absolutely blowing up right now,” he said.
“I’ve never seen it this active, honestly — even just before the podcast it was going off.
“There’s so much flying around in there: emotions, potential solutions, technical ideas, and discussions on how to make sure everyone understands that drivers need to be heard.”
Whilst drivers have been unhappy with previous rule changes in the past, it appears that the most influential drivers right now are banding together to see if something can be actioned to not only improve their experience, but for many F1 fans as well.
READ MORE – The Oliver Bearman crash and 1994: A scarily similar series of events
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