F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Drivers offer four-point plan to make F1 'f**king good' again

F1 drivers - through the voice of the Grand Prix Drivers Association - have offered "four really clear points" to improve the sport's on-track action in the future.

GPDA directors Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean represented their colleagues in a meeting with the FIA and Liberty Media held in Geneva on Tuesday, the agenda of which was focused on F1's 2021 regulations as seen from the drivers' perspective.

F1 managing director Ross Brawn recently welcomed the drivers' involvement in the rule-making process for 2021, with regulations needed to be finalized by the end of October.

Ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix, Haas' Romain Grosjean provided some insight into last Tuesday's meeting.

"We've got four really clear points of where we want to go, and there were discussions of a few things that we thought were completely useless to us in terms of making the show better," said Grosjean.

"Out of four points from the GPDA number one is the tyres. Number two is the aero. Number three is the weight, and number four is money between the teams.

"So, I think if you solve those four points, I think it will be f**king good."

FIA president Jean Todt recently promoted the idea of a return of refueling in F1, and Grosjean believes mid-race pitstops would be a good way of making the cars lighter at the start of a race.

"Nothing is agreed," he insisted. " GPDA, we want it, not because we think it's great for racing, but we need to help to bring the weight of the car down.

"So, it's just a temporary fix to help make the cars 70kgs lighter or 60kgs at the start of the race, and not overheat the tyres.

"When I started in 2009 it was 605kgs, and now we're 740-something. So, it's 140kgs and you can feel the cars in the low speed corners are very heavy, and the start of the race is even more – it's 850, or something like that.

"We just feel it's too much for a Formula 1 car. I know we're talking about an 18 inch tyre, which is another 25kgs, a standard brake system, which is another 8kgs.

"So you are actually adding and adding, while what we want is to bring the weight down."

Grosjean also revealed that the very first suggestion tabled by the GPDA in Geneva was a change of the sport's engine formula, with a return to V10 engines.

However, that idea was frowned upon by the FIA.

"This we were told was not an option! It's the first thing we brought up, a V10 and you save 150kgs."

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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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