F1 Drivers' WhatsApp Group: Toilets, Memes & Safety - what do they actually talk about?

Fernando Alonso on his phone — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 Drivers' WhatsApp Group: Toilets, Memes & Safety - what do they actually talk about?

An F1 star revealed all

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 8 April 2026 20:51

The F1 drivers' WhatsApp group is the source of much speculation and wonderment for some fans. So what actually happens on there?

All 22 drivers on the F1 grid may be rivals, but there comes a time when they must band together and voice their complaints.

One such place to do so is their drivers WhatsApp group, with Williams star Alex Albon revealing what takes place in the chat between drivers.

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Speaking to Cosmopolitan, he stated that it wasn't as fun as people imagined and instead plays host to more business-like discussions. He said: "It's very business orientated. I would say it's 90 per cent business and 10 per cent memes.

"It's more around safety and general day-to-days. For example, we complain about the toilets being bad at a race track. I guess it's a bit of a global ranting forum."

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Privates jets and safety

Previously, former F1 driver David Coulthard revealed that there were WhatsApp groups to decide which drivers took which jet.

He said on the Up to Speed podcast: "We're on a group here because a number of the drivers old and new live in the south of France, or more specifically Monte Carlo.

"So we have a WhatsApp group to figure out who's going where. Max has his own aircraft, Toto has his own aircraft, Fernando in Europe. And then the rest just group together and pay your way, and sometimes it's actually a lot more efficient than doing two flights in Europe to get somewhere, you can just buzz straight in on a private.

"We all pay our way. That's the only fair way."

Recently, the main topic of conversation on the F1 drivers WhatsApp group has been safety in regards to the new cars and the regulations.

In the aftermath of Ollie Bearman's 50G crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, there have been increased safety concerns with the brand new cars. Having to avoid a slower Franco Colapinto who was recovering energy, Bearman veered off track to prevent the collision and ended up in the barriers, with a closing speed between the two a frightening 50kph.

GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association) chairman Alexander Wurz revealed that concerns over the new rules in regards to safety had sent the chat into overdrive, and said while filming for the Lift and Roast podcast: "This famous drivers WhatsApp group which I founded in 2016 or 2015, the chat basically explodes. The chat is more active than ever, I have rarely seen it that active."

"The drivers express emotions, different solutions, technical solutions, we discuss how to convince all the people that the drivers should be heard, have to be heard."

F1 Alex Albon