Members of the Grand Prix Driver Association (GPDA, the F1 drivers’ association) published a press release this Thursday against the President of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. They return to several recent subjects which hit the headlines and which pitted them against the President of the federation.
They first asked the FIA to stop punishing Formula 1 drivers for swearing, and to differentiate possible bad words from real insults, which we never see. This comes after the sanctions imposed on Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
“As is the case in all sports, competitors must follow the referee’s decision, whether they like it or not, and whether they agree or not. That’s how it works the sport (our members) are no different and understand this completely.” wrote the association.
“Our members are professional drivers, who race in Formula 1, the pinnacle of international motorsport. They are the gladiators and every competition weekend, they put on a great show for the fans.”
“When it comes to swearing, there’s a difference between swearing with the intention of insulting other people, and more casual swearing, like you might use to describe bad weather, or inanimate objects like a Formula 1 single-seater, or a track situation.”
A criticism of Ben Sulayem’s “tone and language”
The drivers, who are represented by Sebastian Vettel and George Russell, chaired by Alex Wurz and legally represented by lawyer Anastasia Fowle, then attacked Mohammed Ben Sulayem in person for his fights related to the appearance of the drivers.
These remind them that they are adults and that they wish to be considered as such. Even more incisive, they asked Ben Sulayem to watch his language when he speaks about the pilots, in order to preserve their image.
“We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when speaking to, or obviously about, our member drivers, whether in a public forum or elsewhere. Furthermore, our members are As adults, they don’t need to be instructed via the media on trivial matters like jewelry or underwear.”
As Lewis Hamilton recently expressed, drivers want the money collected from financial sanctions to be reused for useful purposes, and not for the FIA’s internal operations: “The GPDA has expressed on numerous occasions its view that financial fines against drivers are not appropriate for our sport.”
“For three years, we have asked the FIA President to share details and strategy regarding the allocation of FIA financial fines, and where the funds are spent. We have also relayed our concerns about the “negative image that financial fines bring to our sport.”
“We once again call on the President of the FIA to provide financial transparency and to have an open and transparent dialogue with us. All stakeholders (the FIA, F1, the teams and the GPDA) should jointly determine how and where money is spent for the benefit of our sport.”
“The GPDA wants to work constructively with all stakeholders, including the FIA President, to promote our beautiful sport for the benefit of every person who works in it, pays for it, watches it, and enjoys it. likes. We play our part.”
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