GPDA letter planned 'for a while', says chairman Wurz

Alexander Wurz insists the GPDA's strongly worded letter calling for a major reform of Formula One’s governance was not ‘a knee-jerk reaction’ to the Australian Grand Prix qualifying debacle.

Along with Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, chairman Wurz addressed on Wednesday a statement to the sport’s stakeholders, owners, and fans warning that recent decisions “could jeopardise [F1]’s future success”.

Grand prix drivers’ frustration has grown more evident and visible in recent weeks following a winter of endless talks about future regulations, U-turns, and stark criticism from F1 commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Although the qualifying shambles felt like the ‘coup de grâce’, Wurz explains that the GPDA letter has been in the pipeline for a longer time.

“Drivers are the real stars and protagonists of our sport and in response to some heated discussions by our fans and also inside the paddock, the drivers felt it is time to express their collective opinion,” Wurz is quoted as saying by Autosport.

“This was not a knee-jerk reaction to the qualifying experiment.

“This statement was well-considered and planned between all drivers for quite a while now and discussed in Melbourne again during the special drivers’ briefing the GPDA held.”

Wurz reiterates that the statement is not “a blind and disrespectful attack” but explains that drivers felt the need to respond to the urgency of the deteriorating situation.

“Since the GPDA's existence in the 1960s we operate by majority vote, which works very well.

“In this case, it was an extremely clear vote regarding the desire to express our opinion.

“It is the majority opinion of the drivers, in order to make our sport fit for the future and next generations, the business model and the way F1 is run needs to be addressed and redefined, and followed by a clear road map or master plan.

“We are not convinced that individual updates to sporting or technical rules are the solution.

“We believe every acting individual of the stakeholders wants the best for the sport.

“However, the process of how the stakeholders decide over the sport doesn't seem to work too well right now when one observes it from the outside.”

Scene at the Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend

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