Recently, the F1 Drivers' Association (GPDA) sent an open letter to the FIA, calling on the motorsport's governing body and its president to consider “like adults”. A tirade to which the main stakeholders did not take the trouble to respond. A contemptuous attitude which was the straw that broke the camel's back for George Russell, president of the GPDA.
“We are certainly not listened to and our demands are neither considered nor applied”blurted Russell. “Many of us are fed up and what is happening with the FIA is generally going in the wrong direction. Getting changes, or keeping promises, seems complicated. The FIA or its president may not have realized the seriousness of what we drivers feel.”
1982-2024, same fight?
The distress of current pilots is naturally reminiscent of the discontent of their elders who, in 1982, went so far as to strike. That year, at the dawn of the South African GP, the drivers rebelled against the terms of the super-license imposed by the FISA-FOCA duo. A real fool's trap, it would have limited the room for maneuver of drivers in their choices of whether or not to leave a team and secured the latter's position.
Faced with the inflexibility of the Balestre-Ecclestone couple, a general strike was declared, with the pilots barricading themselves in a hotel in Johannesburg. Finally, despite pressure from the authorities and their stables, they won their case, the terms of the super-license being revised to offer more guarantees.
Will the 2024 drivers do as much as those of 1982? If there is no question of a general strike yet, the rebellion should not lose intensity, particularly with charismatic leaders like Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton, both privileged “victims” of Sulayem.
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“If we don't get a response, we will go after the FIA.” Hamilton says. “More than ever, the drivers are united, which has not always been seen in the past. The FIA must work better and collaborate with us. All we are asking is to communicate more with us and to include”.
As for Ben Sulayem, if he persists in playing the little boss, he should not last long at the head of the FIA. We are already talking about “Sir Prodrive” David Richards, much more unifying and temperate, to succeed him.
