FIA’s entering into an ‘unstable route’, refuses to take heed to GPDA considerations

George Russell wasn’t stunned to be taught that FIA deputy president for sport Robert Reid had resigned from Method 1’s governing physique on Thursday over a “breakdown of governance requirements”.

The Mercedes driver, who can also be a president of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Affiliation, stated that the FIA was “repeatedly entering into an unstable route”, and that considerations raised by drivers had been falling on deaf ears.

“Each time we hear information from that facet of the game it is not likely an enormous shock,” he advised reporters in Bahrain. “It’s a disgrace to see… for anyone who’s very effectively revered throughout the sport and has been there for therefore lengthy. Hopefully we get extra stability prior to later.”

Reid, who had been the FIA’s second-in-command to president Mohammed Ben Sulayem since 2021, despatched a letter to the drivers explaining his choice.

“We’re but to speak with him as a result of it was information to us this morning and was shared amongst the drivers,” Russell defined.

“It’s getting to some extent now the place these items are occurring so typically, and as drivers we had been attempting to become involved up to now, however we did not actually make a lot headroom. Issues appear to repeatedly be entering into an unstable route, so we’re getting to some extent now the place our actions are having little affect with [the FIA],” he stated in reference to the GPDA.

The drivers need a seat on the desk, Russell stated, however the FIA – beneath Ben Sulayem’s management – more and more appears to be “entering into their very own route”. In a press release asserting his choice earlier immediately, Reid stated he had been alarmed by what he known as “crucial selections being made with out due course of” over the previous 4 years.

“Once I took on this function, it was to serve the FIA’s members; to not serve energy,” Reid wrote. “Over time, I’ve witnessed a gentle erosion of the ideas we promised to uphold. Selections are being made behind closed doorways, bypassing the very constructions and other people the FIA exists to characterize.”

He went on: “My resignation just isn’t about personalities; it’s about ideas. Motorsport deserves management that’s accountable, clear, and member-driven. I can now not, in good religion, stay a part of a system that doesn’t mirror these values.”

Pictures from Bahrain – Thursday