Russell Wasn’t Pleased With The FIA’s Communication Over Qatar F1 Track Changes

Posted on October 7, 2023 | by Dre Harrison Don’t you just hate it when you find out a bit of important news via the WhatsApp group chat? This wasn’t just for a night out or who’s ordering the takeaway – it’s exactly how George Russell found out about the FIA’s tyre changes for the weekend in Qatar! In case you missed it, the FIA changed Turns 13 and 14 to extend the outside kerb by 80 centimetres over fears the lateral G-Forces were causing damage to the construction of the Pirelli tyre. The FIA released a statement early on Saturday morning, but the drivers were only told minutes beforehand.  The news filtered through to George Russell via the F1 drivers’ own WhatsApp group chat, and George (who’s the driver representative of the GPDA, Grand Prix Drivers Association), wasn’t impressed. In a media scrum that included The Race, George expanded on it. “I found out from a text on WhatsApp, from another driver, I can’t remember who it was now, in our group chat, which is obviously not ideal,” said Russell. “I think what the FIA did with the small modifications of the track was good. I was a bit sceptical but I thought I was a good step.” “But I don’t think they need to intervene to say it needs to be a mandatory three stop, I think to give us the data, see how much where there was on the soft, the medium. And we should all be smart enough to make a decision based on that.” Russell wasn’t the only one surprised at the news, Valtteri Bottas was also caught out by the announcement, saying: “Learned from media, someone sent me a link!” When asked if the GPDA and the FIA have a communication problem, Russell agreed. “ I think Nicholas Tombazis (FIA Single-Seater head) and Steve Nielsen (FIA Sporting Director) are aware and recognise the communication line between the FIA and the drivers isn’t strong enough.”, said Russell. “And it needs to have better cooperation because a lot of these things directly impact us. And we can also give our first-hand view from the cockpit, which can help aid some of these decisions. They truly recognise that, and I think this was a good example for them that we need to make some improvements in that communication process.” Should the FIA lean on the drivers more when making key decisions?