Grand Prix Drivers' Association

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) is the trade union of Formula One drivers. Founded in 1961 and refounded in 1994, it has organised several drivers' strikes and boycotts over the years, primarily in response to unsafe circuits on the F1 calendar and other driver safety issues.

Background

First GPDA

The GPDA was founded in May 1961 and, following an election by members, its inaugural Chairman was Stirling Moss. After Moss retired from the sport in 1963, Jo Bonnier succeeded him.

The organisation's initial aim was to obtain representation on the ''Commission Sportive Internationale'' (CSI) of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to advocate for improved safety standards and provisions for both drivers and spectators. The GPDA organised driver boycotts of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (1969) and the Nürburgring (1970, post-1976).

The organisation fractured during the FISA–FOCA war, during which drivers in teams aligned with FISA (mostly auto manufacturer teams like Ferrari) clashed with drivers in FOCA teams (mostly private racing teams like Lotus, McLaren, or Williams). GPDA chairman Jody Scheckter, a Ferrari driver, used his GPDA role to take FISA's side in the conflict, arguing that ground effect cars (pioneered by the FOCA teams) were unsafe for drivers. In response, several drivers for FOCA teams, including Williams' Alan Jones and Brabham's Nelson Piquet, resigned from the GPDA, and Lotus' Mario Andretti publicly suggested that FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre was no longer fit for the job.

In addition, the GPDA organised a successful drivers' strike at the 1982 South African Grand Prix after FISA proposed new regulations that gave them wider grounds to strip drivers of their FIA Super Licenses, although in that case, FOCA agreed with FISA's position. The drivers defeated the regulations but were fined and sanctioned by the FIA. Following the strike, a number of drivers met to disband the GPDA and replace it with the Professional Racing Drivers Association (PRDA), which theoretically extended to all professional drivers. The PRDA never matched the prominence or effectiveness of the original GPDA, and was said to have "faded away."

Second GPDA

Ahead of the 1994 season, the FIA banned electronic driver aids such as active suspension and traction control. The speed of the change (the FIA was so eager to implement the ban that it initially suggested imposing the ban in the middle of the 1993 season) was criticised by several drivers, who believed that it would lead to unsafe design flaws in the 1994 cars. Williams' Ayrton Senna publicly complained that the 1994 cars were less safe and predicted "lots of accidents," and McLaren's Martin Brundle claimed that because of the rushed nature of the changes, the drivers had "less control of the car" than in years past.

Ahead of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna proposed re-forming the GPDA to give the drivers a unified voice in support of safety reforms. However, Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were both killed by on-track accidents during that race weekend.

Before the following race, the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, Niki Lauda, Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Schumacher, and Gerhard Berger re-established the GPDA, with assistance from Martin Brundle. In its early days, the GPDA was opposed by FIA president Max Mosley, who claimed that non-drivers were interfering with the organisation.

In 1996, the GPDA was incorporated as a UK company limited by guarantee ("Grand Prix Drivers Association Ltd"). For the first time, the association had a formal corporate constitution and permanent offices in Monaco. The first directors of the incorporated GPDA were Brundle, Schumacher, and Berger.

Driver safety initiatives

Since 1994, the GPDA's primary mission has been to improve safety on track. The GPDA threatened to boycott the 2013 German Grand Prix after a series of dangerous tyre blowouts at the British Grand Prix. The GPDA also pushed for stricter safety regulations at private team testing sessions, an area that the FIA traditionally did not regulate. In 2006, Williams' Alexander Wurz, a future GPDA chairman, said that the GPDA's safety push had helped cut the drivers' casualty insurance premiums by nearly half.

Aftermath of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix

Following Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger's deaths at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the reformed GPDA asked the FIA to limit speeds in dangerous areas and improve safety technology. For example, during the 1994 season, temporary chicanes were installed at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya's Nissan corner and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps' Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex. In addition, a pit lane speed limit was introduced, and tracks were revised to provide larger run-off areas at the most dangerous corners.

2005 tyre war controversy

In 2005, Michelin belatedly realised that its tyres could not handle the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's steeply banked Turn 13, prompting the teams with Michelin tyre contracts to drop out of the . Ferrari, which had a Bridgestone tyre contract, participated and won the race. Following the race, the FIA sought to punish the Michelin teams for dropping out. In response, the drivers for the Michelin-supplied teams issued a statement arguing that their teams acted appropriately to protect their drivers' safety. However, the GPDA chairman, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher (who won the race), publicly opposed the statement and denied that the GPDA was involved in the statement. Complicating matters, Jarno Trulli (the polesitter, who was forced to drop out) contradicted Schumacher and characterised the statement as a GPDA statement.

Later that year, FIA president Max Mosley cancelled a meeting with the GPDA, purportedly in retaliation for statements made by the GPDA's David Coulthard. The meeting was reportedly calendared to discuss the Michelin tyre dispute and proposed safety measures at F1 teams' private test sessions. Mosley claimed Coulthard's statements to the media were a "distortion" of the purpose of the meeting and accused him of stirring up dissent. In response, the GPDA stated that Mosley had threatened to withdraw his support for the GPDA's safety initiatives."GPDA Statement "

Aftermath of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix

Jules Bianchi was fatally injured at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and died after several months in a coma. Following his death, the GPDA issued a statement saying that it felt a responsibility "to never relent in improving safety." The GPDA participated in the FIA's official review of the events of the Japanese GP. It also encouraged new safety reforms, including the "halo" cockpit protection device, which Formula One (and some drivers) initially resisted.

2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

During the weekend of the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the GPDA held a four-hour meeting to discuss multiple missile attacks in the Jeddah region, some as close as 10km from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. After discussing the issue with Saudi government officials and FIA regulators, it eventually issued a statement confirming that the drivers would participate, despite their "natural concerns" about driver and team safety.

Other activities

Under the leadership of Alexander Wurz (who became the GPDA chairman in 2014), the organisation grew "increasingly proactive in looking beyond olely driver safetyto a more holistic bigger picture" about the structure and governance of the sport. In 2023, director George Russell explained that the GPDA was broadly concerned with three main topics: driver safety, "on-track entertainment," and "how it feels to drive the cars", although he subsequently noted that the role had grown unexpectedly political.

Racing regulations

In 2017, following Liberty Media's purchase of the Formula One Group, the GPDA sent Liberty a letter encouraging it to revise F1's sporting regulations to encourage closer racing. Wurz explained that "we all love one great natural overtaking much more than ten or more DRS overtakes." However, he also credited Ross Brawn and Pat Symonds with helping push for new regulations, which debuted in 2022. ''Motor Sport'' had previously noted that the drivers almost unanimously criticised regulation changes rolled out before the 2017 season, which they felt "will make overtaking even more difficult than it actually is."

Sporting governance

The GPDA became increasingly critical of Bernie Ecclestone's leadership during his final years in charge of Formula One. In 2015, the GPDA and Motorsport.com jointly organised a fan survey, which Wurz interpreted as saying that the fans (like him) "do not want ormula Oneto become an artificial show with gimmicks introduced to simply make it more entertaining". He added that "F1's business has become too important, jeopardising our sport." In 2016, following changes to the qualifying system, the GPDA released a statement calling F1's decision making "obsolete" and "ill-structured". The GPDA believed that the decision making could "jeopardise F1's future success." Ecclestone angrily dismissed the GPDA's statement, saying that the drivers were "only saying what their teams have told them to say" and that they had no right to a say in F1 decisions because they had never invested money into the sport.

In November 2024, the GPDA released a public statement outlining several grievances against the FIA including the issue of drivers swearing during races, the tone and language of the FIA President ( Mohammed Ben Sulayem) in public statements, and the policy surrounding driver fines. In addition, that year, GPDA director George Russell requested more transparency from the FIA after a series of personnel changes.

Super License fees

The GPDA occasionally protests when the FIA raises the price of the FIA Super License, which all drivers must receive in order to compete in F1. In 2009, the GPDA explained that while it would not oppose reasonable price increases, "Super Licence fees should not be a revenue stream for the FIA" and "as a principle, the drivers should not be taxed to fund the costs of others fulfilling their legal duty to the drivers." The FIA eventually agreed to cut Super License fees ahead of the 2010 season.

Membership and leadership

Membership of GPDA is not compulsory. During the 2017 season, nine drivers and two free practice drivers declined to join. However, by the end of the year, every F1 driver agreed to join the organisation for possibly the first time in association history.

Over the years, drivers have declined to join the organisation for a variety of reasons, such as Lewis Hamilton (lack of time and excessive entry fees), Michael Schumacher (personal distaste for the GPDA chairman), Kimi Räikkönen (lack of interest), and Max Verstappen (felt attacked by several drivers who were GPDA members and doubtful of the organisation's effectiveness), although Hamilton, Schumacher, Räikkönen, and Verstappen all eventually reconsidered.

GPDA members elect their representatives. As of 2025, there are four directors: active Formula One drivers George Russell and Carlos Sainz Jr., legal adviser Anastasia Fowle (the first non-F1 driver past or present to be appointed a GPDA director) and former Formula One driver Alexander Wurz, who serves as chairman.

List of chairmen

List of directors

''Note: from 1996''

See also

*Jackie Stewart
* Sid Watkins
*Road safety
* World Rally Drivers Alliance – Similar organisation founded by World Rally Championship drivers

References

External links

Hamilton stance on union 'wrong'
BBC 18 March 2008

{{Authority control

Formula One
1961 establishments in Europe
1982 disestablishments in Europe
1994 establishments in Europe
Trade unions established in 1961
Trade unions disestablished in 1982
Trade unions established in 1994
Re-established companies