Sainz In The Thick Of Things As New GPDA Director
The preparations for the 2025 Formula One race calendar are almost complete, and the varying teams and drivers will soon be lining up for the first big Grand Prix of the year out at the Melbourne Circuit, and as is usual for this time of the year there are numerous stories for race fans to pour over, whether they be new car releases, or drivers like Lewis Hamilton switching race teams.
As is normal in Formula One this is also the time of year where fans pour over regulation changes, rule tweaks and the administration of the sport, and it has just been confirmed that Carlos Sainz has been appointed as a director of the Formula 1 drivers' body the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.
As the annual milestones tick by as we get ready for the first race it also means fans who like a flutter can start investigating their odds, but for those who like the experience of online casino gaming, phone casino gaming you can play on the go now.
The 30 year old Spaniard had already made the switch from Ferrari to Williams for this campaign, and he now fills the void left by four time world champion Sebastian Vettel who retired from the sport back in 2022, and then subsequently stepped down from his GPDA director position last year.
Sainz is obviously delighted to take on the role and play an even bigger part in the sports future growth, and he now joins chairman Alex Wurz, Mercedes driver George Russell and Anastasia Fowle as a GPDA leader.
Having been formed back in the early 1960's, the GPDA has played a crucial role in safety matters down the year, and under Wurz's chair ship, the group were instrumental in F1's adoption of the 'halo' head protection device which was introduced back in the 2018 campaign and has subsequently saved a number of lives in the sports serious accidents since.
However, in more recent years drivers have found themselves largely at loggerheads with president of the governing body the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem following his election in 2021. His actions and decisions have led to serious concerns being expressed by drivers and stakeholders, and they are still contemplating how they should respond to his January decision to codify a disciplinary process for drivers who swear that could see them banned for an unknown period of time.
The FIA has still not confirmed how this procedure and the new rules would apply, but world rally driver Adrien Fourmaux became the first casualty of the new regulations this month where he was fined 10,000 Euros for swearing in a TV interview at Rally Sweden.
Sainz is already on record as saying that drivers should absolutely moderate their language when being front facing in media interviews and their honouring their obligations, but it is absolutely an expletive to think that they should do so in the heat of a race, with emotions running high on a team radio for example.
This one is likely to run and run and it could be another year where off track issues dominate the actual racing.
Content by reddog
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
