Lewis Hamilton wants Formula 1 drivers to have more say on decisions influencing the sport and has called on his peers to consider unionizing beyond the existing Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA).
The comments follow a series of flashpoints in recent years between F1’s governing body, the FIA, and the drivers.
Last year, the GPDA wrote an open letter asking that they be treated like adults after Max Verstappen was given a form of community service as punishment for swearing in a press conference.
At the start of this year, the FIA reissued rules relating to driver conduct in its International Sporting Code (ISC), which included penalties of up to €120,000 ($135,430) and suspension from competition for repeat offenders.
Earlier this week, Ben Sulayem posted on social media saying he was open to reconsidering the contentious section of the ISC, stating there has been “constructive feedback from drivers across our seven FIA world championships.”
However, when George Russell, a director of the GPDA, was asked if F1 drivers had entered dialogue the FIA president, he said “collectively, we’ve not spoken any further since the open letter that was sent out.”
Hamilton, who was sat next to Russell during Thursday’s driver news conference at the Miami Grand Prix, said the drivers deserved a more formal position within the sport’s decision-making process.
“I think ultimately, the GPDA is very unified,” the Ferrari driver said. “Ultimately we want to be able to work closely with the FIA.
“I think everyone, all of us, want to continue to work together and make the sport better, and of course we’ve faced a bit of an uphill challenge in that communication over time.
“Ultimately, we don’t hold a power seat at the table, and that needs to change, in my opinion. So we, you know, if you look at other sports that have unions, that may be something that comes into play at some stage.
“As I said, we don’t want to control things, we just want to collaborate with them more and have our voices heard.
“Ultimately, people making decisions for others that have never been in that position, it’s good to have the point of view from the drivers’ perspective, and that’s all we try to give.”
The GPDA was initially set up to advise on matters of safety in Formula 1. However, Russell said it had increasingly found itself dragged into the sport’s political battles.
“I mean, it feels like it’s unprecedented times we’ve had in the last 18 months with what’s been changing, what’s happening,” Russell said. “I think when the GPDA founded years ago, it wasn’t really to talk about politics, it was to talk about safety, it was to talk about improvements of the sport, improvements of racing.
“And especially myself, I find myself talking about topics that I didn’t really have any intention of talking about, but we find ourselves in a time where we’re not focused on the things why we’re all here.
“We’re here to go racing, we’re here to create the best show for the fans, to have the fastest cars, the safest cars, you know, the best technology, the best engineering, and yet we talk about fines and punishments and swearing.
“So yeah, maybe something should change. We’re open to it, but we just ultimately want the best for the sport.”
Russell said the drivers now want to see action from the FIA rather than statements on social media.
“Obviously we want to see these things put into action, rather than saying, ‘we’re considering things’,” Russell said. “We all consider a lot of things. We’re clear we want changes, and once they are implemented, then we’ll comment on it. But for the time being, it’s being considered so the words don’t mean anything until the change has been made.
“Collectively, we’ve not spoken any further since the open letter that was sent out. So whether that [post] is the response, I’m not too sure.
“It would be great if changes were made and the drivers were at least heard and I think that’s just in the best interest for the sport and ensuring that some common sense is applied to these situations.
“All of us, we can comment on it when we see the action being taken, rather than just the consideration.”
