Despite coming away from Brazil with a win in both the Sprint as well as the main race, Max Verstappen doesn’t seem too happy with the FIA. As per a recent report by Total Motorsport, the Red Bull driver has claimed that the FIA has too much politics involved in their decision-making process.
Verstappen said, “Sometimes it has too many rules that they have to take into account. And too much politics as well to make a change or a decision”. These comments come after the governing body introduced some new rules to prevent the backing up of traffic in the pit lane like what happened at the Mexico City GP a few days back.
Max Verstappen critica a la FIA por tener “demasiadas reglas” y pide más voz para los pilotos#F1
➡️https://t.co/jL2DGa76A2 pic.twitter.com/ZRryFOKbDQ
— SoyMotor.com (@SoyMotor) November 10, 2023
Verstappen also complained about the lack of influence the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has in these matters. After stating the same, he also joked that the GPDA getting power over such matters is as likely to happen as him owning F1.
The FIA has been extremely erratic when it comes to making decisions regarding racing in the last two years or so. Inconsistent rulings regarding track limits and subsequent penalties have irked most of the drivers including Max Verstappen. The drivers believe that such rulings are damaging to F1’s image.
It’s still mind blowing that not only did the FIA not penalize Perez but they didn’t even investigate him at all.
Russell forced gasly on the grass, and so did Perez on Verstappen yet only Russell got penalized?
hell Ocon n Gasly ahead of Perez got penalized TOO pic.twitter.com/LutPovegxv
— mrwn 🇵🇸 (@mrwnussy) November 4, 2023
Sergio Perez has also backed up his teammate’s claims of getting the GPDA more involved in the decision-making processes of the sport. He explained that the drivers are the people who live the sport and therefore taking their input is of paramount importance.
Should the GPDA have a greater role in the FIA’s decision-making process?
The GPDA is a union body formed by the F1 drivers. Former F1 driver Alexander Wurz acts as the chairman of the association while it has three other directors: Legal consultant Anastasia Fowle, Former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, and Mercedes star driver George Russell.
🗣️ | Checo on GPDA should gain more influence among the paddock
“I think would be nicer if the GPDA could have a little bit more influence, because the GDPA is not just a single driver, it’s the majority of us.”
“We’re living the sport, and it would be nice to see in the near… pic.twitter.com/Iftob4v5yd
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) November 10, 2023
The GPDA mainly works for the interests of the drivers and to make sure that they have some sort of leverage when they need to make their voices heard. However, the association can only act as a consultant for the FIA and has no power to actually influence their decisions.
The biggest example of that came during the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP when the GPDA wanted F1 to stop racing in Jeddah following multiple missile strikes near the track. However, in the end, the race went on as usual, despite the risk to the safety of the drivers. This only proves how important it is for the GPDA to get a stake in the decision-making procedure of the FIA and F1.
