George Russell said Formula 1 drivers have it “a little fed up” from the leadership of the sport’s governing body, the FIA.
Russell, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), said drivers “were not aware” of the decision to dismiss race director Niels Wittich from his position three races before the end of the season.
“There are a number of drivers who are a little fed up with this whole situation and it seems like it’s only going in a certain direction.”
Russell made it clear that he was specifically referring to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
He stated that he was not “not difficult” to have a meeting with Ben Sulayem, but that “keeping promises is another matter”.
Russell’s comments come at a turbulent time in the relationship between drivers and the FIA.
Since the last race in Brazil, the GPDA has published an open letter asking the FIA to deal with them “like adults” after a controversy over pilots’ swearing during press conferences.
The letter also referred to a lack of transparency over how fine money was used. Has there been any feedback from the FIA?
“No. Not at the moment, which surprises me a little, but maybe there will be something coming. Who knows.”
Wittich’s departure took place a few days later, and shortly after it emerged that the FIA’s head of compliance, Paolo Basarri, had also been fired.
“As a driver, as opposed to my role within the GPDA, everyone felt we wanted to stay united in the face of some of the things that happened.”
“Ultimately we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have that dialogue.”
“And Niels’ departure is a great example of what we’re not doing in terms of conversations. The letter is sort of a way for us to put the pressure back on them.”
Russell admitted that drivers were not entirely happy with some aspects of Wittich’s work since he became racing director at the start of the 2022 season. The German was replaced by former Formula racing director 2 and Formula 3, Rui Marques, for the last three races of the season, starting in Las Vegas this weekend.
“It’s no secret that some people weren’t happy with what was happening in terms of the decisions that were being made, but he worked with us and we could have helped improve the situation.”
“Sometimes just hiring and firing isn’t the answer. Let’s see what this new era has in store, but every time you make a change, you have to take one step back before you take two steps back. Before.”
Russell conceded that the FIA is not “clearly not the most stable place.”
“We recognize that everyone is working as hard as possible to do the best job possible. There are obviously a lot of changes within the FIA quite regularly, so it’s clearly not the most stable place. “Maybe that’s why it was a little difficult to get some of the changes we wanted to implement.”
“Of course, everyone has their own version of their own story. Like I said, I think if we feel like we’re being listened to and some of the changes we’re asking for are being implemented because ultimately , we are only doing it for the good of the sport, so maybe our confidence will increase.”
Asked to also give his feelings, Lando Norris was not very talkative: “I don’t know what’s going on there. Obviously things aren’t going as well as we would like.”
Kevin Magnussen echoed Russell’s comments, saying drivers felt ignored compared to the days of former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, who died on the eve of the 2019 season.
“I compare it to the days of Charlie Whiting. He was someone we felt really connected to and were really listened to, but now we feel like it’s more us versus them and it should be a closer connection. We can help a lot.”
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