Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in F1 public declaration after FIA controversy

A composite image of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton and Verstappen in bold public declaration after FIA controversy

A group lead by former and current F1 drivers could be about to make waves in the sport

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 6 November 2024 08:27

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Stars of the Formula 1 grid both past and present appear to be preparing to shake up the sport following recent criticism regarding how the FIA regulates action on and off the track.

During the recent triple-header which saw F1 head to the US, Mexico and then Brazil, the sport's governing body faced complaints across the paddock over a variety of punishments and rulings.

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The past three consecutive grands prix have produced some of the most dramatic racing displayed all season.

The championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris really heated up at the US GP, where a decision by the FIA to hand Norris with a five-second penalty for supposedly not meeting the driver's overtaking guidelines led to much debate.

McLaren heavily protested the decision which lost their star driver vital points in the hunt for his maiden title, the papaya team submitting an official Right of Review to the FIA which was later rejected.

The British star and his team were adamant they had been victims of inconsistent stewarding, the debate spilling over into the race in Mexico the following week.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen's on-track battles have sparked debate over the FIA's regulations

Red Bull boss Helmut Marko claimed the FIA treated Red Bull unfairly in Brazil

GPDA create public social media

It was in Mexico that their rivals were this time handed an array of penalties, with reigning champion Verstappen handed two lots of 10-second penalties, yet again for a battle with Norris that forced the Brit off the track.

Another driver who was left baffled by the stewarding of the FIA over the past month was Mercedes star George Russell, who during his sixth-placed finish at the US GP, was also handed a five-second penalty for forcing Valtteri Bottas off the track.

The Silver Arrows principal Toto Wolff instantly took to team radio to declare the decision a 'total joke', evidently irked by the calls of the FIA at COTA.

Mercedes were left confused at the US GP after claiming they had been dealt an undeserved penalty

As F1 now has a two-week break to process all the controversy of the past three races, it has emerged that the Grand Prix Drivers' Association has taken steps to go public on social media platform Instagram.

The association was initially founded in 1961 and in today's format, Russell acts as director. Former F1 driver Alexander Wurz is the Chairman and legend of the sport Sebastian Vettel has long been involved with the driver safety elements of the group which also includes world champions Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

New activity so far in the aftermath of the past triple-header is the formation of the Instagram account, which only follows all 20 current full-time drivers on the grid, F1 super-sub Ollie Bearman, the personal accounts of both Vettel and Wurz and the group's Director Anastasia Fowle - with F1 fans eagerly awaiting the first official post on the platform.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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