Ahead of the 2025 F1 Bahrain GP, Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) director, George Russell, currently driving for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, criticised the recent instability within the ranks of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA. Russell’s comments came hours after Robert Reid, the FIA’s deputy president of sport, announced his resignation, citing a “fundamental breakdown in governance standards” within motorsports’ governing body.
Reid one of several high-profile exits from FIA
Reid is one of several high-profile members to leave the FIA in recent months due to dissatisfaction with the organisation. He joins the ranks of former FIA CEO Natalie Robyn, who has since criticised the “serious ongoing structural challenges” at the FIA. While speaking to BBC Sport in the aftermath of Reid’s announcement, Robyn, who left the FIA in May 2024, just 18 months after being appointed CEO, expressed her disappointment with the turmoil within the organisation, stating, “When professional processes are not adhered to and stakeholders are excluded from decision-making, it undermines the foundation of a strong organisation.”
After Robyn left the FIA, the organization fired the head of the audit committee, Bertrand Badree, and audit committee member Tom Purves in the summer of 2024. In November 2024, it also dismissed compliance officer Paolo Basarri, who had investigated allegations involving FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s role in races during the 2023 season.
Russell not surprised by Reid’s exit
While speaking to the media ahead of the 2025 F1 Bahrain GP, Russell gave his thoughts on Reid’s departure from the FIA. The GDPA director criticised the instability within the governing body. However, although he described the matter as “a shame to see,” he admitted that the news did not come as much of a surprise to him.
“Unfortunately, every time we hear some news from that side of the sport, it is not really a big surprise.”
“It’s clearly a real shame to see, and somebody who’s very well respected within the sport, and has been there for so long. As we keep saying, it’s like, “what’s next?””
“It’s a shame to see, and hopefully we get more stability sooner rather than later.”
FIA criticised by GPDA and WoRDA in recent months
The GPDA has been critical of the FIA in recent months, most notably releasing an open letter via social media calling for more respect towards the drivers and asking for greater transparency from the organisation in early November 2024. Russell, ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas GP, later criticised the FIA’s silence in response to the letter.
The hefty fines handed to drivers as punishment for seemingly minor infractions have been a hot topic in the world of motorsport, with fans, pundits, and athletes alike criticising the FIA’s alleged heavy-handedness.
In February, the World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA) issued a strong statement condemning the fines imposed by the FIA for swearing, following the €10,000 fine handed to French driver Adrien Fourmaux for swearing in a TV interview while discussing his performance at Rally Sweden.
Unlike their F1 counterparts, however, the WoRDA did allegedly receive a response, after drivers threatened to not offer English-language comment after stages of upcoming rally races.
Sainz’s fine at Japanese GP another contentious moment in F1
More recently, the Stewards fined Carlos Sainz €20,000 after he arrived late to the National Anthem at the 2025 Japanese GP. However, the Stewards suspended half of the fine—€10,000—for 12 months.
According to Document 49, Sainz breached Article 19.4 b) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, despite seeking and receiving medical attention for stomach discomfort.
The Stewards justified the penalty, stating that “displaying respect for the National Anthem is a high priority and all parties need to consider every eventuality in planning to be in position for the Anthem by the required time.”
Although the Stewards made their decision independently of the FIA, the organization faced criticism for the inflexibility of its regulations. Many pointed out that Sainz had provided evidence of a medical condition, diagnosed and treated by a qualified medical professional.
Sainz’s late attendance to National Anthem in Suzuka not a straightforward matter
Russell also commented on Sainz’s penalty, explaining that while he appreciated that drivers had a duty to be on time for the National Anthem, the matter was not as straightforward as it appeared on paper due to mitigating factors which frequently came into play.
“I’ve got to be honest, I totally appreciate that we have a duty to be there for the National Anthem.”
“It’s not quite as straightforward as people may think for us to be there on time. We’re often running to the toilet, and there’s sometimes just not toilets available between the time you jump out of the car and go into the Anthem, and then you get stopped by some people on the grid or people asking for a quick interview.”
“So, you know, it’s not like we’ve got one sole job and that’s only it. We’re trying to take our moment before the Grand Prix and being there on that minute is sometimes not straightforward.”
Russell appreciates Sainz matter from both perspectives
While Russell appreciates the FIA’s perspective on the matter, acknowledging the National Anthem as an important moment of the race weekend, he insisted that logistical issues did pose a significant challenge.
“So, I appreciate it from F1’s perspective because it’s a very important moment of the race. But also from a driver’s perspective, there are genuine logistical issues that sometimes you’re literally waiting to get into a bathroom cubicle.”
Reid sent a letter to the drivers explaining resignation decision
Returning to Reid’s resignation from the FIA ahead of the F1 Bahrain GP, Russell admitted that while the GPDA had received a letter from Reid, they had not yet spoken to him. Despite that, Russell claimed that the announcement had been unexpected, as the drivers had found out by sharing the news among each other.
“I mean, he did reach out. He sent a letter to the drivers just explaining his decision. We’ve yet to talk with him.”
“Obviously, it was news to us this morning. That’s at least when I found out of the news and it was sort of shared among the drivers.”
GPDA relationship with FIA going in “an unstable direction”
However, Reid’s departure did not surprise Russell, who noted that such issues had become increasingly common in recent months. He explained that while the drivers and the GPDA had made efforts to get involved in the past, the FIA had mostly dismissed or overlooked their input.
“It’s getting to a point now where these things are happening so often, and as drivers we were trying to get involved in the past, but we didn’t really make much headroom. Things seem to continuously be going in an unstable direction, so we’re getting to a point now where our actions are having little impact with [the FIA].”
Russell continued: “We’ve got to trust in the teams and the FIA and Formula One to work with the FIA to come to a common ground. If we can help, we want to be there, but often it just seems like things are going in their own direction.”
Drivers “just want collaboration” with the FIA and F1
When asked for his thoughts on the fines, an issue of contention, as raised in the GPDA’s open letter in November, Russell stated that he did not want to give the matter more airtime.
“Look, we’ve been talking about this on and off for six months now. In all honesty, I don’t even want to give it any more airtime.”
He did, however, give his personal perspective, explaining that, despite the drivers’ best efforts, their attempts at communicating with the FIA had been futile.
“From my own personal perspective, because we’ve sort of said everything we’ve had to say over these months, unfortunately, it has had little or no impact.”
While Russell claimed that the drivers have full faith in F1 and CEO Stefano Domenicali, he hopes that they can look forward to improved stability and collaboration in the future.
“All of the drivers have 100% trust and faith in Stefano and F1. We know that they work together with the teams and it’s in all of our interests to make something come of all of this and just see stability and collaboration moving forward.”
“But we just want collaboration,” he insisted, “It doesn’t make any sense to be fighting on these topics.”
Russell expects Bahrain to require a two-stop strategy
Returning his attention to on-track activities, Russell discussed his performance in the opening rounds of the 2025 F1 season. The Mercedes driver explained that though the Melbourne, Shanghai, and Suzuka circuits had been different, they had not provided a fair representation of the kind of tyre performance that could be expected throughout the season.
“Yeah, I think even though the three tracks prior were sort of different in layout, when it comes to the tarmac and the roughness, they all gave us that one-stop race.”
“Melbourne, had it been dry, I think also would have been, unfortunately, a bit of a boring one-stop race. It’s rare we say this, but the tyre was probably too good in these races.”
“I think, moving forward, recognising these very smooth circuits, we probably need to go softer on the compounds,” Russell proposed.
With high temperatures expected at the Sakhir International Circuit, Russell believes that this weekend’s F1 Bahrain GP race will require a two-stop strategy.
“I don’t expect there to be any sort of issue in that regard here in Bahrain. It will almost certainly be a two-stop race.”
Bahrain “a good test” to identify “weak spots”
This, Russell believes, will be “a good test” for Mercedes to identify “weak spots” in their performance as he expects the F1 Bahrain GP to be “the first real test of a different picture.”
“From our side, it will be a good test to see if we have any weak spots, because we’ve been performing reasonably well in these first three races, but this is going to be the first real test of a very different picture.”
Russell believes that the challenges of the Sakhir International Circuit will favour McLaren, which he expects to be “very quick” throughout the weekend.
“This is where I expect McLaren to come into their own. I expect them to be very quick on the high-degradation, hot tracks.”
Use of softer compounds in opening races could have raised concerns about tyre life—Russell
After proposing the use of softer-compound tyres at smoother circuits, Russell was asked if the drivers had raised the issue with tyre supplier Pirelli.
“I think they’re aware of it, to be honest,” he replied.
However, while Russell believes that Pirelli is aware of the matter, he speculated that the supplier might have considered potential complaints about tyre life had they chosen softer compounds.
“From their perspective, if we go softer and we can still do a one-stop race, there’s then concerns of the life of the tyre, and if we fully wear the tyre, you then may get into the situation of punches, which, obviously, Pirelli want to totally avoid.”
Despite this, Russell believes that the involved parties could find a solution to the “boring” races on smooth or cool tracks, noting that strategy could be of particular focus in such races.
“But I think there is a solution somewhere that on these smooth tracks, and the cooler tracks, that we can have the good race and the variability and strategy that we want. I mentioned this before.”
Russell hoping that “the smarter people on the paddock” will come up with a solution
When asked if mandating the use of all three compounds of tyres in the race could be an option, Russell admitted that it was not something that he felt strongly about. Despite this, he stated that he hoped that more experienced persons would be able to come up with an appropriate solution.
“We’ve got the tyre allocation on the weekend, very biased towards qualifying with the eight soft tyres,” Russell explained, “We’ve got the three compounds. If you went softer with them all together and you said, we’ve got to use all three sets, that could be interesting.”
“It’s not something I feel strongly about, and I’m sure the smarter people in the paddock will come up with a better solution.”
“But, to be honest, I think F1 and Pirelli are aware of these last two races,” Russell concluded.
Russell impressed by rookie teammate Antonelli
Now the veteran at Mercedes, Russell also spoke about his new teammate, rookie Kimi Antonelli, who will compete in his fourth F1 race with the Brackley-based team during the Bahrain GP. Russell praised his young teammate, though he insisted that he was not surprised, having been aware of Antonelli’s talent and success in the junior categories.
“Yeah, he’s done and amazing job, and it’s not been a surprise to me. I’ve seen with all the practice he has how well he was performing, with his track record in junior series, and how he’s integrated within the team.”
Russell views Antonelli’s strong start to the season as great for their team’s championship ambitions and hopes that they can continue to have strong performances in the upcoming races.
“It’s been great to see, and some really strong races so far. For us to have two cars that have been up there every single race is obviously good for the championship and just helping one another to get more out of each other has been great as well.”
“So, yeah, really good to see,” Russell concluded.
