All 20 Formula 1 drivers met with the FIA stewards in Qatar for an important\u00a0annual \u2018Driving Standards Review\u2019 meeting. According to Martin Brundle, not every driver found it to be a worthwhile experience.<\/p>\n
Brundle, the former racer turned Sky F1 commentator and pundit, said he had \u201cspoke to one or two people who thought about walking out\u201d of the meeting. Oscar Piastri and George Russell were not among those alleged unimpressed drivers, as both called the meeting \u201cvery productive\u201d. With the driving standards guidelines a key topic, the FIA clarified that situation.<\/p>\n
Martin Brundle drops FIA meeting \u2018walk out\u2019 claim<\/p>\n
There has been some rumblings of driver discontent when it comes to the applications of penalties in F1 2025. A key example discussed in the Qatar meeting with governing body the FIA was Oscar Piastri\u2019s 10-second penalty from Brazil, a verdict which Grand Prix Drivers\u2019 Association [GPDA] director\u00a0Carlos Sainz had branded \u201cunacceptable\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Racing Guidelines document exists to offer drivers an insight into how the FIA stewards would look upon matters including overtaking and on-track conduct. There are concerns that these guidelines have led to drivers at times looking to game the system, and unfair penalties being issued.<\/p>\n Following the meeting, the FIA released a statement<\/a>, as part of which they referred to the guidelines as \u201ca living document\u201d, while it was \u201creiterated\u201d that they \u201care guidelines, not regulations\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cData from the past three seasons shows that the DSGs have contributed to greater consistency in stewarding decisions, supported by detailed analysis provided by teams,\u201d the FIA added.<\/p>\n Brundle claimed to have spoken with \u201cone or two people\u201d who were not seeing great value in the meeting, and thought about \u201cwalking out\u201d of it.<\/p>\n As Sky F1 lead commentator David Croft suggested that there \u201cis still room for improvement\u201d, Brundle responded: \u201cYeah, I think there always will be with refereeing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, it\u2019s subjective. It\u2019s a matter of opinion on a lot of these things.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the stewards do, fundamentally, a good job in a very challenging and pressurised situation where they\u2019ve got to make a decision in the next few laps, and certainly before the end of the Grand Prix, so fans, ideally, can go home knowing what the result is.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a technical infringement like we saw last weekend [with McLaren in Las Vegas], well, there\u2019s nothing you can do much about that, because you can\u2019t exactly measure the floor of a car halfway through a grand prix.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to one or two people who thought about walking out of that meeting last night. Weren\u2019t happy about it. Just thought it was a bit of a waste of time.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, if you ask 20 drivers an opinion, you\u2019ll get 20 different opinions, and that was exactly the same when I was a driver.\u201d<\/p>\n Championship hopeful Oscar Piastri clearly was not one of those drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was very productive,\u201d he said of the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s good to always give our direct feedback to the stewards. I think [it was] tidying up a few things.<\/p>\n \u201cI think generally things have been pretty good. Whenever you try and put any kind of guidelines or wording around going racing, there\u2019s always going to be gaps somewhere. It\u2019s impossible to cover everything. So, I think just some ideas and opinions on how we can close some of those gaps was good. So yeah, I thought it was productive.\u201d<\/p>\n More Qatar GP talking points via PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 FIA eyes Qatar GP safety measures following Pirelli tyre cuts discovery<\/a><\/p>\n