How 'Driver Power' Has Started To Play a Positive Role in Shaping F1 Rules

F1 Drivers Are Having More of a Say in New RulesCHARLY TRIBALLEAU - Getty Images

Formula 1 track action kicked off again in Miami on Friday following the unprecedented break since Japan, and, inevitably, the main talking point was how the tweaked power unit regulations played out.

Drivers generally seemed to see the changes as a step in the right direction,although, to be fair, the Montreal layout, with its long straights, will be a much biggertest of electrical deployment.

The whole episode has been an intriguing case study as it has seen an unprecedented level of “driver power”, with the guys who sit in the cars involved in the definition of the rule changes to a degree that we haven’t seen before.

Through the Grand Prix Drivers Association, formed in the 1960s, they have always had much to say on safety matters. And there was a clear safety element to the current raft of changes, many of which were done to address the issue of closing speeds highlighted by Oliver Bearman’s heavy crash at Suzuka after he was tripped up by a slowing Franco Colapinto.

However, with many of them having made their feelings clear about what the 2026cars are like to drive, they also had some input on more general changes in energy deployment and, thus, how the cars have to be driven, and in turn, how much satisfaction they get.

It’s been an interesting process. Keen to have something more focused than the usual in-person driver meeting, where attention wanders, and egos are at play assome are more vocal than others, the FIA wanted a small focus group in which todiscuss matters in depth.

Those involved in two virtual gatherings last month were GPDA directors George Russell and Carlos Sainz, joined by Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, the most consistent critic of the rules.

They were joined by the FIA’s single-seater boss Nikolas Tombazis and single-seater technical director Jan Monchaux, and Tim Malyon, the man responsible for the sportingregulations, with Stefano Domenicali’s right-hand man, Liam Parker, representing F1’s interests.

"I think we tried to select drivers from differing power units, not just one," says Tombazis. "We obviously have as a reference point, the GPDA, their directors. We went for, obviously, drivers with a certain level of experience. We just want to have a slightly smaller group. And we also didn't want to have more than one driver per team, because we just wanted to keep the group limited in number. So on that basis, I think we had a bit of a cross-section of competitivity and with a reasonably experienced background."

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton wants those who drive the cars to have more say in future changes.CHANDAN KHANNA - Getty Images

An initial meeting allowed the drivers, who had heard the views of their colleagues in the GPDA WhatsApp chat, to have their say and bounce ideas around. The FIA technical team then reviewed the potential impact of the changes that had been discussed, and a second meeting with the drivers was held (with Verstappen absent due to his GT commitments) to discuss the findings and refine the changes, which were ultimately agreed with the team bosses later that week.

It was, by all accounts, a very positive process, with both sides encouraged by how well it worked.

The small-group theme worked well, with everyone having their say, and, as Tombazis noted, those present representing a range of teams and PU suppliers.

"Personally felt heard," said Charles Leclerc when asked by Road & Track about the process. "And I think it was really good, because there was a really good cohesion between drivers. We are normally wired to look at performance and performance only, but in those kind of discussions we've had, we really put performance on the side, and we really think about what we wanted as drivers, to drive those F1 cars, and for it to feel a bit more F1-like, especially in qualifying."

He admitted that change isn’t easy to push through: "I think it was a very good way of working together. Then, of course, I think with certain contract constraints, and the FIA is working with certain constraints, just like the teams, there are things that are just impossible to change short term, but to be part of the process of thinking with them and to let them know also what we feel inside the car was super useful. So I think it's a right step, a good step in the right direction."

Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton wants another step, with the drivers having more formal say.

"All the drivers, we do work together, we all meet," Hamilton said. "But the fact is, we don't have a seat at the table. We do engage with the FIA and F1. F1 is more often a little bit more responsive. But being that we're not stakeholders, we don't have a seat at the table currently, which I think needs to change."

By way of illustration, he cited the drivers’ views on the direction the tires should take, having recently conducted 2027 wet-weather testing for Pirelli.

"When I was doing the Pirelli test, I was like, you guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us," he said. "We don't want to be slagging off the Pirelli tires. We know you can build a good product, but their feedback will be coming from people who have never driven a car before. So we're like, speak to us. We'll work, go hand in hand, work together to approach the FIA so we can get a better product. And the same with F1, we're here to work with you, and that we don't want to be slating our sport. We want the sport to succeed, and so we need to keep working together. But it's like a broken record. You’re doing it, and it's like small baby steps each time."

We’ve come a long way since the Bernie Ecclestone era, when the former F1 boss did everything he could to keep the drivers in their place on everything except obvious safety matters.

However, Hamilton’s hopes for formal representation, for example, within the F1 Commission where the big picture matters are discussed, is probably a little ambitious.

The FIA view, echoed by the teams, is that the drivers already have a chance to have their say, and the GPDA as a forum.

"We are still looking for the table!," joked Ferrari's Fred Vasseur. "I think a good example was that drivers, they were part of the discussion on the modification of the engine the last couple of weeks. It went well. For sure, they have different point of view, and it’s not always easy to find a compromise. But they are part of the discussion, and they will be part of the discussion, as we are also on our listening to them and discussing with them and bringing somehow their feedback to the FIA when we are discussing about the regulations. They are not excluded at all from the system."

In Hamilton’s own phrase baby steps are better than nothing, and the recent process set a precedent for informal but in-depth discussion that will hopefully be followed in the future.

Let’s hope that the drivers are heard when the format of the next generation of cars and engines is determined for 2031 and beyond – they won’t be averse to a return to V8 power.

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