12 drivers were missing from the meeting to discuss penalty issues and track limits

The FIA organized a meeting between the drivers and the commissioners on Thursday, October 26th. The objective was to discuss between the two sides to improve penalties and sanctions in races. The meeting aimed to exchange points of view after the recent controversies that were criticized towards the FIA.

The problem of track limits has been raised. Regularly, drivers have developed the habit of reporting on the radio any observed infringements of track boundaries by their opponents. However, the FIA does not consistently take these reports into account, which fuels frustration among the drivers. On the other hand, hearing drivers complaining on the radio is not appreciated by fans or teams.

Faced with these criticisms, the International Federation had decided to expand the limits in Austin, but this decision was also criticized. In the end, there must be a strict limit, Valtteri Bottas had declared. On his side, Pierre Gasly had affirmed that in the long term, a solution must be found.

In order to support their statements, the commissioners showed, during the meeting with the drivers, the actions where Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton were said to have exceeded the limits. However, the two onboard cameras did not capture the footage that would allow the FIA to penalize the two drivers. Pierre Gasly’s overtaking maneuver at Silverstone was also analyzed. All other incidents related to overtaking or championship point loss were discussed.

The problem of collisions

During this meeting, the FIA also compared similar situations that received different sanctions. Lando Norris, who had created space in front of the safety car to avoid queuing at the pits, was penalized in Canada in addition to being accused of unsporting behavior. Charles Leclerc was caught doing the same action in Singapore, however, the Monegasque driver was not sanctioned.

The collisions were also analyzed, such as the one where Sergio Perez touches Albon during an overtaking maneuver. Despite the five-second penalty, Williams deemed the decision inadequate.

Through these visualizations, the goal was to reflect on the severity of sanctions in order to toughen them or lighten them. However, this initiative was not followed by 12 drivers who were absent.

The exact list of present drivers is not known. The drivers are gathered in the form of an association, the GPDA (Grand Prix Driver Association), currently represented by George Russell. The Mercedes driver is the main contact person with the FIA and is one of the spokespersons for the drivers in relation to the FIA.