With harsh letter to FIA President are F1 drivers correct or spoiled brats?

[John S]

GPDA the F1 drivers association have taken aim at Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA President, in the form of a bold statement about nit picking and high handedness; as they see it. (See GPDA statement below).

Now aside from the clear grammatical errors in their tome is it right for participants in any sport to make such public admonishments of the elected top official of that sport?

Yes they possibly have what one might describe as minor grievances with FIA enforcement of some rules, however most of what they complain of have been rules for very many years in F1. Because previous administrations did not in the main enforce these rules does not mean they are null & void.

To me with this spat, and isn't that really what this is, has the look of an internal politics agenda, being pushed perhaps by other interests than solely drivers.
Funny though how this is all ramping up heading into new Concorde agreement negotiation time.

I'm in the 'Spoiled Brat' camp. What's your view on this?   

GPDA statement in full

As is the case with every sport, competitors must abide by the referee’s decision, whether they like it or not, indeed whether they agree with it or not. That is how sport works. The Drivers (our members) are no different, and fully understand that.

Our members are professional drivers, racing in Formula 1, the pinnacle of international motorsport. They are the gladiators and every racing weekend they put on a great show for the fans.

With regards to swearing, 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 a Formula 1 car, or a driving situation.

We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery and underpants.

The GPDA has, on countless occasions, expressed its view that Driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our Sport. For the past 3 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 have also relayed our concerns about the negative image financial fines bring to the Sport. We once again request that 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 where the money is spent for the benefit of our Sport.

The GPDA wishes to collaborate in a constructive way with all the stakeholders, including the FIA President, in order to promote our great Sport for the benefit of everyone who works in it, pays for it, watches it, and indeed loves it. We are playing our part.

[Jericoke]

I certainly think that F1 drivers, indeed any elite athletes/prominent entertainment figures, have to have an element of being a spoiled brat.

I also think the GPDA is right in that they should be having a voice in how Formula One is run. 

On the swearing front, a lot of the drivers don't speak English as a native language, and some of them have learned it from foulmouthed mechanics.  If F1 drivers need to watch their language on camera, then the people around F1 need to watch their language off camera, which sounds like a tall order.  If the FIA is worried about swearing at press conferences, put the conference on a 5 second delay with a censor handy, and don't let kids in the room.  They already delay radio comments so they can censor them, so why not elsewhere?  As a fan I don't care if the press conference is on a slight delay.

As for fines bringing a bad image to the sport... what?  North American sports have fines and do just fine.  The athletes are paid fantastic sums of money, and will sometimes treat the fines as a cost of being their authentic selves.  I don't know about the other sports, but the NHL is transparent about where the fines go.  They have a player emergency assistance fund.  The FIA has public outreach arms, I would assume it's easy to say that's where the fines go.  Certainly it would be fair for the GPDA to have a say in what the fines are used for.

[cosworth151]

I agree with Jeri on both items.

The first reminded me of a childhood friend's grandfather. He moved to Ohio from Belgium and learned English from his fellow workers at the huge Buckeye Steel foundry in Columbus. His language was colorful to say the least, but to him that was normal conversation. Also, language used in the intense circumstances of a race should not be judged by the same standards as a press conference.

As for the fines - Let's just say that it's only one of many, many areas where the FIA need much more transparency. 

[Andy B]

So the tail wants to wag the dog!
I don't think so!!
Drivers are there to drive the cars within the rules set by the governing body if they are not happy keeping to the rules or behaving to a standard deemed within the rules then go take their spoilt brat selves elsewhere.
Acceptable standards need to be maintained as sadly it is in decline, in the main I do not swear as I feel I can express myself without it but whacking my thumb with a hammer may bring some relief with the odd word!

[lkjohnson1950]

Most of the athletes I have met were spoiled. I think it comes from being told you are special and don't have to follow the rules from an early age. Swearing is catching. I never swore much since my parents were strict about it, but my ex-wife swore like a sailor. I swear more now after being with her.

[cosworth151]

Many, if not most people swear more because of their ex'es. 

I really wouldn't minimize the role of the drivers. Without them a GP weekend would just be an interesting car show.

I grew up in a union household. Both of my parents were union members. I see this as a legit union actions.