Grand Prix Drivers' Association director and Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell has warned that "things seem to be continuously going in an unstable direction" at motorsport's governing body following another fiery senior FIA resignation.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem received another blow on Thursday with the news that his deputy president for sport Robert Reid had resigned.
Reid, who stood alongside Ben Sulayem in their successful 2021 election campaign, resigned with a strongly worded statement, citing a "fundamental breakdown in governance standards within motorsport's global governing body".
That followed some heated flashpoints in the last 12 months, including criticism and the threat of legal action from Motorsport UK head David Richards, as well as a controversial heavy-handed clampdown on swearing that frustrated F1 drivers.
GPDA director Russell was asked for his take on Reid's resignation ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"Unfortunately, every time we hear some news from that side of the sport, it's not really a big surprise, so it's clearly a real shame to see - someone who is very well respected within the sport and has been there for so long," Russell replied.
"As we keep saying, what's next? Yeah it's a shame to see, and hopefully we get more stability sooner rather than later."
Russell confirmed that Reid sent a letter to the F1 drivers explaining his decision, though they're yet to discuss it with him.
Russell feels the drivers are now fairly powerless in a saga that's heading in the wrong direction.
"Ultimately, it's getting to a point now where these things are happening so often, as drivers, we all tried to get involved in the past, didn't make much headroom and things seem to be continuously going in an unstable direction," Russell said.
"I've got to be honest, we're getting to a point now where our actions are having little impact with those guys and we've got to trust in the teams and the Formula 1 to work with the FIA to come to a common ground and if we can help, we want to be there, but often it just seems as if things are going in own direction."
There's clear frustration from the drivers, with Russell feeling comments from F1 drivers have had "little to no impact" on resolving the issue.
"Look, we've been talking about this on and off for six months now. In all honestly, I don't want to give it any more airtime," Russell added.
"Because we've sort of said everything we've had to say over these months.
"All of the drivers have 100% trust and faith in Stefano [Domencali, F1 CEO] and F1, and we know that they work together with the teams.
"It's in all of our interests to make something come of all of this and see stability and collaboration moving forward.
"We just want collaboration, it doesn't make any sense to be fighting on these topics."
