Carlos Sainz has been voted in by his fellow Formula 1 drivers as a new director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), replacing the now-retired Sebastian Vettel.
The GPDA is the organisation that represents F1 drivers’ interests, having originally been founded in 1961 and then resurrected in 1994 in the wake of the deaths at Imola of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.
While the body used to be mainly focused on safety issues, under former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, who has been its chairman since 2014, it has got involved in wider issues surrounding the series.
This has included input into trying to help frame a better F1 for fans, teams and drivers – which includes making sure the car regulations are fit for purpose and that the spectacle is good enough to keep interest high.
GPDA leadership
Alex Wurz - chairman
Anastasia Fowle - director
George Russell - director
Carlos Sainz - director
As part of the leadership structure at the GPDA, Wurz’s efforts have traditionally been bolstered by three directors.
One of these is non-driver Anastasia Fowle, who offers business, political, legal and strategic advice to the GPDA thanks to her background as a lawyer.
The other two directors have been drivers, picked from the rosters of those competing currently.
Most recently that has been George Russell, who took over the slot from Romain Grosjean at the start of 2021, and Sebastian Vettel, who had fulfilled that role since 2010.
But with Vettel having now retired from F1 and his focus being on interests elsewhere, it has been decided that now was the right time to bring someone else in.
Following discussions within the GPDA, and a vote among the members, it has been decided that Sainz will take that role.
"I am passionate about my sport and think we drivers have a responsibility to do all we can to work with the stakeholders to forward the sport in many aspects," Sainz said. "So I'm very happy and proud to do my part by taking on the director's role in the GPDA."
Swearing fallout - and Sainz's view
Sainz arrives at an interesting time in terms of the relationship between drivers and the FIA, in the wake of some tensions between them and the governing body’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
A clampdown on wearing jewellery, the right underwear and most recently swearing – with drivers now under the threat of race bans for any misconduct – has caused some unease among competitors.
The GPDA wrote an open letter to Ben Sulayem last year asking for more respect and that the drivers were treated “like adults”. The president later hit back by saying it was none of their business how the governing body was run.
The imposition of strict sanction guidelines for misconduct has only served to ramp up tensions between drivers and the FIA though, and this could become a big talking point at the start of the season.
Speaking about the matter recently, Sainz said that while he agreed drivers should act like role models in press conferences, it was important not to remove the raw emotion that is shown when they are racing.
“In controlled environments, like press conferences, drivers should be mature enough to know when to control swearing,” he said.
“I don't think we should be swearing in those situations, and I think we're old enough and sane enough to know what to say and not to say. For me that's just a matter of education and manners.
“Now, what we say on the radio, I don't agree with what is happening. I think you cannot be too tough on this kind of thing, because you cannot understand the pressure, the adrenaline and the way we feel inside the car when we open that radio. And I honestly think for F1 it's good to have those kinds of moments.”
He added: “When you hear that passion, when you hear those words, even if sometimes we swear on the radio, for me that's a keeper in Formula 1 and that shouldn't be something we should get rid of."
