F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Drivers joined by F1 chiefs at extraordinary GPDA meeting

The GPDA held a meeting on F1's future on Friday at Interlagos, and the drivers were exceptionally joined by representatives of the Formula One Group, the FIA and Pirelli.

The GPDA's agenda was mainly centered around drivers' concerns over tyres and tyre management, an issue which they believe is negatively impacting the racing.

However, the scope of the meeting also included a broader set of topics, with F1 sporting manager Ross Brawn, F1 race director Charlie Whiting and Pirelli's Mario Isola all in attendance to listen to the group's grievances and suggestions.

"It was interesting and pretty long," said Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, quoted by Motorsport.com. "We talked about a lot of things.

"At the moment we’re trying to find the best directions to take for the future of Formula 1, and they [Formula 1 Group and the FIA] are listening to the drivers’ point of view, which I think is really important.

"Teams always try to get advantages with their strength and try to lead the FIA in certain ways. Us as drivers are maybe more objective, and are just saying about what they would like from the cars to make it even more enjoyable.

"We didn’t all agree, but we all shared more or less our views on what we need to improve - to be able to follow closer, all these kind of things we can improve to make the show better.

"We talked about tyres, and he [Isola] wanted to explain their [Pirelli’s] position, and to try to figure out the direction they should take in the future."

©WRI

While Pirelli's compounds for 2019 are set in stone, Mario Isola was still attentive to the drivers' comments, insisting that teams could exert a bigger influence in terms of tyre selection at specific races.

"It is true we have developed our products [for 2019], we cannot change it now," said Isola.

"But we can make a different selection, have a different approach, so it is important to understand from the drivers how are their expectations.

"We want to reduce the number of the homologated compounds but have the right delta between compounds, and we are improving the wear profile to have less blistering – that is something we have experienced this year in some races.

"It’s important to listen to their [the drivers’] opinion. They drive the car so at the end of the day we should listen to them."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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