F1 drivers have launched brutal assault on the FIA and Mohammed Ben Sulayem as they call for the organization to back off and to stop micromanaging them as they become increasingly frustrated with the body following the 2024 Brazilian GP at Interlagos.
The development comes after a series of incidents since 2020 of the FIA trying to clamp down on wearing jewellery and underpants, and recently the use of bad language by drivers despite English not being their native tongues.
That resulted in Max Verstappen boycotting the official press conferences through malicious compliance as Lewis Hamilton called for the world champion to refuse to serve his community service penalty with the drivers united in their biggest display of opposition until now.
So the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), which represents the 20 members of the grid, created an Instagram account from which they launched their assault on the FIA and Ben Sulayem, who’s tone they criticised.
“With regard to swearing, there is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing,” the GPDA posted via Instagram. “Such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or a driving situation.
“We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults.
“They do not need to be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants.”
The attack on the FIA president comes after a bizarre remark during which he said F1 drivers shouldn’t swear in press conferences or over the radio during sessions, going on to make a ludicrous comparison to rappers that Hamilton suggested was racially motivated.
The seven-time world champion previously said that Ben Sulayem doesn’t have his confidence too, going as far as to say the 62-year-old “never has” as he defended Susie Wolff from unfounded accusations of corruption earlier in 2024.
And the assault on the FIA by F1 drivers wasn’t just limited to controlling their fashion senses either as the GPDA called for more transparency and better communication on where the financial fines go to.
Funding is famously a big problem in motorsport and drivers often have their careers end before they can make it to F1, F2, F3 etc… simply because they can’t afford it, regardless of their talent behind the wheel.
Yet the FIA never discloses where the financial fines go to, and as they become increasingly common, the drivers are demanding to know where that cash pool is going to ensure it’s being used for the betterment of the sport.
“The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that the driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our sport,” the GPDA’s open letter continued. “For the past three years, we have called upon the FIA president to share the details and strategy regarding how the FIA’s financial fines are allocated and where the funds are spent.
“We have also relayed our concerns about the negative imagine financial fines bring to the sport. We once again request that the FIA president provides financial transparency and direct, open dialogue with us.
“All stakeholders (FIA, F1, the teams, and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where the money is spent for the benefit of our sport.
“The GPDA wishes to collaborate in a constructive way with the stakeholders, including the FIA President, in order to promote our great sport for the benefit of everyone who works in it, pays for it, watches it and indeed loves it. We are playing our part.”
