F1 drivers part of open letter critical of FIA and its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem
By Michael Doyle
Topic:Formula 1
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is at the centre of an open letter from the Grand Prix Drivers Association.
In short:
All 20 Formula 1 drivers have demanded motorsport’s governing body stop treating them like children in the wake of a crackdown on swearing.
An open letter from the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) released on Thursday gave a critical assessment of the governing FIA and its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
What's next?
The FIA has yet to respond to the letter from the drivers.
All 20 Formula 1 drivers have demanded motorsport’s governing body stops treating them like children in the wake of a crackdown on swearing.
An open letter from the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) released on Thursday gave a critical assessment of the governing FIA and its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Tensions between the drivers and the FIA have simmered for more than a year, but the recent financial punishments handed to two drivers for swearing has led to the first GPDA collective statement in seven years.
F1 world champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc were both fined in recent weeks for swearing during interviews.
Verstappen referred to his Red Bull car as “f****d” during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend and was ordered to do community service.
Verstappen refused to speak in FIA press conferences for the rest of the weekend.
Leclerc was fined 10,000 euros for his slip of the tongue in Mexico City.
"There is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car or a driving situation," the GPDA statement said.
"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."
The comment on Ben Sulayem’s tone comes following an interview shortly before Verstappen’s incident, where he said F1 had to "differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music".
Lewis Hamilton was critical of an interview conducted made by the FIA president.
That drew the ire of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who considered those comments racial.
"Saying ‘rappers’ is very stereotypical," he said.
"If you think about it, most rappers are black, so it says: ‘We are not like them.’ Those are the wrong choice of words and there is a racial element there."
Hamilton and Ben Sulayem have had a frosty relationship since the latter became FIA president in December of 2021.
A crackdown on jewellery, which Hamilton had worn, started their strained relationship, and the GPDA criticised it.
"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 GPDA statement said.
The GPDA also called for an end to monetary fines, while also demanding to know where the money from their fines go.
"The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our sport," the GPDA said.
"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 once again request 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 whether the money is spent for the benefit of the sport."
The FIA has been approached for comment.
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