FIA president receives letter as former F1 stars among 20 drivers demanding change

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FIA president receives official letter from 20 drivers demanding change including former F1 stars

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has received a rather shocking letter

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 18 March 2026 12:58

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has received a letter from the entire grid requesting a complete re-evaluation of the sporting regulations and race direction, as well as an independent review into stewarding consistency.

All 20 drivers on the 2025/2026 grid of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship have arranged, signed and sent a letter to Ben Sulayem, requesting that action be taken for the good of the sport after the drivers felt 'unheard in the paddock'.

The letter was sent on March 11 by the Formula E drivers' group representatives Lucas di Grassi and reigning champion Oliver Rowland, citing on-track incidents and what the drivers believe to be a general lack of understanding of the style of racing seen in the all-electric series.

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Motorsport publication The Race have revealed the contents of the letter and reported that Ben Sulayem is set to make a 'rare appearance' at the sixth round of the season 12 championship for a new race in Jarama this weekend following the bombshell correspondence.

Several drivers who wished to remain anonymous also told the above publication they have 'little or no professional faith' in multiple senior officials within Formula E.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the FIA said the governing body are: "In regular correspondence with ABB FIA Formula E World Championship manufacturers, teams and drivers on a variety of topics.

"We are reviewing the comments on sporting matters raised recently by drivers, and will continue with the same proactive approach to develop and invest in this championship, ensuring the highest standards are maintained."

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Formula E grid demand independent review into stewarding consistency

All 20 drivers competing in this year's Formula E championship have signed the letter, including former F1 stars Nyck de Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi, Pascal Wehrlein and Lucas di Grassi, who earned the nickname 'Mr. Formula E' having competed in every championship of the electric series since its inception in 2014.

The letter sets out a worrying list of concerns felt among the drivers for some time, with a lack of confidence in the experience of some of the figures working in the sport as well as dissatisfaction over 'substandard stewarding'.

The letter addressed to the FIA president started off on a positive note, stating that the drivers: "see a lot of effort and improvement year over year with the local ASNs, marshalling, safety, track conditions, technical fairness and general protocols".

But the letter continued, saying that the drivers wanted to: "formally express our shared and growing concern regarding the current standard, consistency, and procedural coherence of stewarding and race direction within the championship".

Among the topics raised that the drivers wish to see improvements made in were inconsistency in decision-making and penalty application, a lack of continuity in stewarding panels, the assignment of driver advisors and championship-specific expertise, and improvements in race director logic, leadership, communication and transparency.

A specific enquiry was also raised concerning FIA Formula E race director, Marek Hanaczewski, who the drivers believe should face an "internal evaluation of (the) race director (sic) understanding and reasoning of the sporting rules", adding "without the capacity – and humility – to acknowledge and learn from mistakes, there is little evidence of continuous improvement".

Drivers 'risk losing pay' over demanding FIA letter

Whilst all 20 drivers on this year's Formula E grid have put their names to the bold letter, none of the 10 team principals have spoken out about the correspondence directly, with it being said that the majority of the Formula E bosses were completely unaware of the drivers' intention to send the demands to Ben Sulayem.

Though no Formula E team principal is yet to go on record, some have moved to distance themselves and their team's from the direct actions of their drivers.

Reports have also suggested that at least two teams are considering withholding this month's driver bonus payments, whilst others are believed to be taking a potential driver fine into consideration.

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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