31 replies to this topic

[MattK9]

Russell will become co-director of GPDA alongside co-director Vettel and chairman Wurz after Grosjean has left the role.

 

https://www.autospor...rector/5862551/

 

Personally, it is an odd choice for someone so young and only a few years of experience to be co-director

[KevR]

Well, young but definitely an upgrade on Grosjean when it comes to maturity.

[Lights]

Personally, it is an odd choice for someone so young and only a few years of experience to be co-director

 

He does however have more PowerPoint experience than all previous GPDA directors combined.

[P123]

Seems a good choice.  Russell has his head screwed on.  And as Lights mentions, admin experience ;)

[jjcale]

He is a headboy type of person - and the younger drivers all seem to have a lot of respect for him as an individual .... good choice. The younger ones should to be represented by one of their own. 

[jjcale]

He does however have more PowerPoint experience than all previous GPDA directors combined.

 

 

[MattK9]

Well, young but definitely an upgrade on Grosjean when it comes to maturity.

 

Grosjean was an odd choice too. I would liked to have been a fly on the wall when the co-director of the GPDA explained some of his bizarre accidents. Spain a couple of years ago comes to mind when he span infront of the midefield and put his foot to the floor so none of the pack could see anything and caused a multi-car pile up rather than just one car spinning into the gravel

 

He does however have more PowerPoint experience than all previous GPDA directors combined.

 

Ive been using Powerpoint since before Russell was born!

 

 

He is a headboy type of person - and the younger drivers all seem to have a lot of respect for him as an individual .... good choice. The younger ones should to be represented by one of their own. 

 

Headboy type he maybe but he is widely expected to be next inline for a Merc drive. Will he be able to be impartial while fighting for a world championship? 

[SophieB]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

[FLB]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

The 1982 Kyalami strike? 

[Risil]

They managed to force some circuit and car design(?) changes on safety grounds in the aftermath of the early races of 1994, didn't they?

 

I don't think they've been as confrontational since then, except possibly when the FIA made that change about superlicence fees.

[Clatter]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

 

Just had a look on Wiki and there really doesn't seem to be much of note shown there.

[Frood]

Headboy type he maybe but he is widely expected to be next inline for a Merc drive. Will he be able to be impartial while fighting for a world championship?

Vettel has been director since before he won his first WDC so I don't think that's a concern.

In fact, Vettel was younger than Russell is now when he became director.

Edited by Frood, 23 March 2021 - 14:15.

[pitlanepalpatine]

They generally tend to go "We aint racing" coz of tire issues. But their primary role will be liasing and providing feedback on other committees. I think that you need to review their achievements in the fact that the drivers are showing up to race repeatedly and there is no major fallout. I'm actually surprised Hamilton won't take a role considering how "Outspoken" he is on issues.

[MattK9]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

 

They refused to drive the original Nurburgring or Spa in the 1969/70. Slightly before my time!!

 

I believe that the FIA consult their opinion on a range of different matters but that is largely behind closed doors so that they can give honest opinions rather than PR talk.

 

They will also release the odd PR statement which generally leaves the impression that they snipe snide opinions from the sidelines and don't really do much.

[ANF]

They managed to force some circuit and car design(?) changes on safety grounds in the aftermath of the early races of 1994, didn't they?
 
I don't think they've been as confrontational since then, except possibly when the FIA made that change about superlicence fees.

Sometimes they tried and failed. This was in 2006:

“For several years we have communicated through the FIA our concerns with the run-off areas given the high-speed nature of the [Monza] circuit and in particular the second chicane.
 “We understand and accept that the circuit meets the current FIA standards; and in the case of the second chicane the calculated impact speed would be 200kph resulting in a 40G deceleration.
 ”We believe that, as it is proven that tarmac run-off areas are safer than gravel, this should be adopted by all current Grand Prix circuits as a minimum, and the kerbs should also be brought in line with the more modern track.
 “In discussions with FIA representatives over the last few seasons the reason given for not making the changes is one of finance which, given that more than half of the circuit was recently re-surfaced, demonstrates that funds were available.
 “We invited a circuit representative to join our association's meeting on Friday evening which he accepted only to cancel on the day.
 “We are extremely disappointed not to have had the chance to work together with the circuit to find an acceptable solution; so have once again included in our report to the FIA that the circuit be updated where possible to continue our joint efforts to improve safety.”

[Risil]

They generally tend to go "We aint racing" coz of tire issues. But their primary role will be liasing and providing feedback on other committees. I think that you need to review their achievements in the fact that the drivers are showing up to race repeatedly and there is no major fallout. I'm actually surprised Hamilton won't take a role considering how "Outspoken" he is on issues.

 

I would definitely be interested to know what the GDPA did behind the scenes after the tyre debacle at the 2013 British Grand Prix, or the failure to bring out a safety car in the late stages of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

[Clatter]

I would definitely be interested to know what the GDPA did behind the scenes after the tyre debacle at the 2013 British Grand Prix, or the failure to bring out a safety car in the late stages of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

 

In the case of Silverstone, all they had to do was stay on the tarmac and the tyres would have been fine. As it was, I was a spectator there and cars blowing their tyres added somewhat to the spectacle.

[jjcale]

They generally tend to go "We aint racing" coz of tire issues. But their primary role will be liasing and providing feedback on other committees. I think that you need to review their achievements in the fact that the drivers are showing up to race repeatedly and there is no major fallout. I'm actually surprised Hamilton won't take a role considering how "Outspoken" he is on issues.

 

I read somewhere (sorry I cant remember exactly where now) SV and Wurz treat him like an honorary director and bring him in when they need help lobbying on really big issues. 

[jjcale]

In the case of Silverstone, all they had to do was stay on the tarmac and the tyres would have been fine. As it was, I was a spectator there and cars blowing their tyres added somewhat to the spectacle.

 

That's true, but I think most of the crowd would have preferred to see LH keep his lead to the end...

[Clatter]

That's true, but I think most of the crowd would have preferred to see LH keep his lead to the end...

 

Probably, I just see tyre failures, along with mechanical failures as part of the game. In the case of the tyres, Pirelli got a lot of stick, but I think the teams themselves should have been the ones to take the lion share of the blame.

[Risil]

But it was the tyre compounds that ultimately changed. Hence my wondering what went on politically in private, because as you say Pirelli weren't the only plausible culprit.

[ANF]

I would definitely be interested to know what the GDPA did behind the scenes after the tyre debacle at the 2013 British Grand Prix, or the failure to bring out a safety car in the late stages of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

From Vettel's German GP Friday driver quote five days after Silverstone: "To be clear about yesterday and the GPDA meeting: the general agreement was that we're happy Pirelli bought a new specification of tyre for this event and want to thank them for their flexibility and reaction times – they were able to find a solution in only a couple of days. The circumstances that we raced under in Silverstone were not what we can accept, but I don't think we will see those issues again."

[pitlanepalpatine]

I read somewhere (sorry I cant remember exactly where now) SV and Wurz treat him like an honorary director and bring him in when they need help lobbying on really big issues. 

 

Haha, fair enough...Lewis does hate the drudgery of the day to day 

[azza200]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

 

the tyre chicane at Spain 94 and the chicane at Eau Rouge 

[sheSgoTthElooK]

I bet he will be better than GRO. 

 

I bet most drivers don't want to do the job anyway.

 

I bet it's better to talk less, and start the engines   

[Frood]

To be fair to Grosjean, he couldn't win. When the Formula 1 YouTube channel was uploading the drivers' briefings, Romain would raise safety issues and people commenting would almost universally say he was a "whiner".

[jondon]

To be fair to Grosjean, he couldn't win. When the Formula 1 YouTube channel was uploading the drivers' briefings, Romain would raise safety issues and people commenting would almost universally say he was a "whiner".

 

Just imagine if the internet existed in the 60s and 70s when Jackie Stewart was fighting for even the most rudimentary of safety levels. I suspect he would have recieved death threats and been subject to cancellation campaigns.

[Dolph]

Can someone remind me of the GPDA's past achievements?

 

After Massa left F1 (he weighed 64 kg including his racing kit and helmet) they all managed to agree that racing drivers together with their seat should weigh a certain minimum weight. This joint opinion of all drivers allowed the FIA then to implement this change into the regulations that is more fair to all racing drivers. 

 

Overall I find that this kind of "they're all stupid, what have they ever achieved" attitude is a very generalized and simplistic view and more a reflection on the person saying this opinion than the drivers. The GPDA has been place for years and the drivers wouldn't have the GPDA if they saw no need for it. I think that's pretty basic to understand, is it not?. 

 

I am not a fly on the wall of the GPDA, but if I had to guess, I suspect they have meetings where matters relating to F1 are discussed and disagreements talked out and mutual understanding on at least some issues is formed. This allows the drivers to represent themselves in other meetings in a more coherent manner. Instead of drivers voicing out various not-talked out opinions and it all being an inconclusive mix of ideas with each having his own, more coherent developed thoughts are put forward on which actions can in theory be taken. Otherwise when everyone has a different opinion it can be concluded that "they don't know what they want and we can't accommodate them all, so lets just ignore them and go with what we think is best". I don't know what would be examples of this, but it can also be little things like points in meetings with the race director, for example. Smth we never hear about. The F1 drivers can be also lobbying for their own interests and that doesn't mean that this will result in an "achievement" that can be paraded around. I would be willing to bet that when the cost cap was being discussed the drivers were lobbying for their salary to not be under the cost cap.

 

In the end, F1 is a sport with the history of 70 years. Most issues have been hashed through hundreds of times. The drivers do not have the resources and capacity to revolutionize the sport and it is not their job, but I think the weight limit with drivers seat is smth very related to the driver and a good example of what they should conclude on ...and I as a fan am very thankful for.

Edited by Dolph, 24 March 2021 - 02:11.

[loki]

Russell huh?  Didn’t realize he was into racing...

 

[dannyricsshoe]

Which would be faster? Russell Crowe in a Chariot or George Russell in a Williams?

[pitlanepalpatine]

Which would be faster? Russell Crowe in a Chariot or George Russell in a Williams?

 

More importantly who'd break the Willams first, Crowe with a Pilum or Russell with a safety car.

[cpbell]

Just imagine if the internet existed in the 60s and 70s when Jackie Stewart was fighting for even the most rudimentary of safety levels. I suspect he would have recieved death threats and been subject to cancellation campaigns.

What happened in reality wasn't far short!