Formula 1 News: Only of 20 drivers show up for FIA meeting

(GMM) Only 8 of the 20 F1 drivers turned up to a special meeting convened by top FIA steward and World Motor Sport Council member Gary Connelly.

Amid a string of recent and ongoing controversies including penalties, track limits, tire problems in Qatar and even EUR 1 million fines, the drivers have made clear they are unhappy about the situation.

“As the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) we hope that the collaboration starts getting better with the FIA,” Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz said recently.

Kevin Magnussen added: “I think we really do need to communicate better, we need to work together as a group.

“The drivers are an integral part of the sport. We drive the cars, we take the risks, so we want to be involved,” he added.

[Editor’s Note: Well, then why did only 8 of the 20 drivers show up for the FIA meeting that was designed to improve the dialogue? Talk about cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.]

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, talks to the press during the Mexico City GP at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Thursday October 26, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

To address the situation, Connelly invited all of the drivers and the ten teams’ sporting directors to a FIA meeting to discuss the full raft of issues on Thursday evening ahead of the Mexican GP weekend.

“More than half didn’t go,” Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Andreas Haupt revealed.

“Only eight of the 20 drivers actually showed up to discuss things.”

Shooting deaths will not stop Mexico GP

A fatal shooting just outside the circuit will not affect the running of the rest of the Mexican GP weekend.

A perpetrator and a police officer were both killed in the shooting standoff right outside the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where the entire Formula 1 world is gathered.

But Formula One Management said the race will go on.

“It has no impact on the event,” a spokesperson for the sport told De Telegraaf newspaper.

“After an analysis by the local authorities and our own security team, it was concluded that it does not pose an increased risk.”

The incident involved a stolen car and a chase, which ended near the circuit when the perpetrators opened fire on the police. Two other police officers were injured in the incident when they were hit by the stolen car.

Another of the perpetrators was taken by police escort to the hospital with a gunshot wound.