The alarm raised by the GPDA is shaking the Formula 1 paddock: regulations written without the input of those who actually drive the cars are now showing clear limitations.
One key element has emerged after the first three Grands Prix of the 2026 season: the new Formula 1 was created without the drivers. Or, to be more precise, it was built by ignoring them. And the consequences have arrived immediately, in the form of complicated races, extreme energy management, and situations that push the limits of both safety and technical understanding.
This criticism does not come from external observers or armchair analysts, but directly from those who represent the collective voice of the drivers. Alexander Wurz, president of the GPDA, has described a situation that goes far beyond simple dissatisfaction.
“In that famous WhatsApp group we created in 2015 or 2016, things are really exploding,” explained the former Austrian driver, as reported by RN365. It is a statement that sounds like a clear indictment. Because that group has now become the place where drivers try to fix—after the fact—issues that could have been avoided from the outset.
“I have rarely seen it so active. That group is overflowing with emotion, possible solutions, technical proposals, and ideas on how to convince everyone that drivers should be listened to.” That is the core issue: convincing someone to listen to them. In 2026. At the highest level of motorsport. It seems almost absurd that this has not already been done.
F1 2026 – A category designed without those who drive it
The new 2026–2030 regulations, with the introduction of extremely complex power units from an energy management perspective, were presented as a necessary technological leap: more sustainability, more efficiency, more control. However, those who sit in the cockpit had already identified the risks before winter testing, working in the simulator: turning the driver into a parameter manager rather than a true interpreter of performance.
Today, that risk has become reality. The difficulties seen in the first three rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season—ranging from inconsistent energy deployment to unnatural race phases and borderline situations—are not anomalies. They are the direct consequence of a decision-making process that excluded the very people who could have anticipated them.
It is no coincidence that Carlos Sainz, in his role as GPDA director, spoke out strongly after Oliver Bearman’s heavy crash in Japan, explicitly asking the FIA to put drivers back at the center of the regulatory process.
The stakeholder disconnect
The problem, at this stage, is structural. Modern Formula 1 is governed by a system of stakeholders—the FIA, Formula One Management, and the teams—that tends to prioritize industrial, political, and commercial interests over the pure sporting dimension. In this scenario, the driver becomes a secondary variable: a component of the system, rather than its focal point.
This is where the model begins to break down. No simulation, no algorithm, and no technical working group can ever replace the direct experience of someone managing a Formula 1 car at over 300 km/h, in extreme conditions, making decisions in fractions of a second. Ignoring this expertise is not just short-sighted—it is technically irresponsible.
The paradox: the solutions already exist
The most paradoxical aspect of this situation is that the solutions already exist and are readily available. They are right there, in the WhatsApp group Wurz referred to. They have been developed, discussed, and refined by the drivers themselves. “It’s fantastic, and beautiful. Of course, I cannot share any of it—and I don’t want to. I am not overstepping my role as GPDA director at this moment. What is discussed there stays there.”
An impeccable institutional stance, which only highlights the disconnect even further: the ideas exist, but they remain outside the decision-making rooms. “But the beautiful thing, and my conclusion, is that the drivers are so emotional and purely interested in the product that politics does not really matter to them.”
This is precisely the point that should make Formula 1’s governing bodies reflect. Drivers do not engage in politics. They do not defend budgets or industrial strategies. They defend the product. They defend the sporting credibility of Formula 1.
A lesson that cannot be ignored
What is happening in 2026 should serve as a clear lesson: excluding drivers from the decision-making process is a systemic mistake. It is not about giving them a symbolic or purely consultative role after the fact. It is about integrating them structurally into the rule-making process—before decisions are made, not after.
Because Formula 1 is not an isolated engineering laboratory. It is a sport. And as such, it thrives on the balance between machine and driver. For now, that balance has been broken. And as long as stakeholders continue to believe they can design the future of the category without listening to those who live it from the inside, there is only one risk: building a Formula 1 that is increasingly sophisticated, but increasingly less authentic.
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