Preseason Report: Carlos Sainz is New GPDA Co-Director
On the eve of the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz was elevated to a new leadership position in the F1 world. From 2010 to 2022, 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel acted as the head director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, an organization that serves as a trade union for the drivers. Through this organization, the drivers are able to raise awareness about unsafe tracks, race rules, and other driver safety issues. The GPDA was founded in 1961, disbanded in 1982 after the South African Grand Prix strike, and refounded in 1994 when 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher accepted the mantle.
Under Vettel’s leadership, the GDPA took part in many initiatives that aimed to remember past drivers’ legacies and help the communities around the cultural centers of F1. For example, in 2024, Vettel crafted a giant replica of Ayrton Senna’s helmet, with the colors of the Brazilian driver’s flag created out of 100% recycled trash from the streets of Sao Paulo. Another major GDPA initiative was the creation of the “halo” cockpit protection device after Jules Bianchi fatally crashed in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Because of the work of this esteemed association and chairman Alexander Wurz, racing regulations have saved the lives of many drivers and kept the sport as safe as it is entertaining.
Sebastian Vettel’s tribute to the late legend Ayrton Senna in Brazil. Photo courtesy of F1i.
Previous GDPA directors also include racing icons Martin Brundle, David Coulthard, Fernando Alonso, Jensen Button, and Romain Grosjean. In 2025, Sainz is joining Mercedes driver George Russell and Anastasia Fowle to become co-director of the program. Russell has been leading the program since 2021, and Fowle acts as the first non-driver co-director, providing the association with strategic, legal, and business advice.
Recently, the GDPA has gotten involved in the new swearing ban controversy enacted by the FIA in 2025 because of a shocking event in the world of rally. At Rally Sweden, French driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined 10,000 euros for swearing during the race, and both the GDPA and World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA) have spoken out against the FIA’s new restrictions. The GDPA released a public statement clarifying that there is “a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or driving situation.” The statement also emphasized that all the drivers are adults that do not need rules about trivial matters. The target of such a statement is FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who is majorly disliked by the fan base for the FIA’s controversial and sometimes radical restrictions - exemplified by the crowds booing any mention of the FIA excessively at the F175 Live Event recently.
George Russell (left) and Sainz (right), the driving directors of the GDPA for 2025. Photo courtesy of The SportsRush.
Sainz joining the board of directors is exciting news, and I can’t wait to see what the GDPA acts for this year. All the best luck to the association, and I hope that plenty of change is made for the better!
That’s all for now- thoughts on the smooth operator becoming co-director or the FIA swearing ban? Drop your comments in the form on the about page or email me (contact info at the bottom of the page). As always, thanks for reading! I had fun with this one!
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
