the rule changes implemented<\/a> after driver dissatisfaction with this year\u2019s new regulations are taking effect for the first time.<\/p>\n\u201cAll the drivers we do work together, we all meet but the fact is we don\u2019t have a seat at the table,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cWe do engage with the FIA and F1; F1\u2019s more often a little bit more responsive. But being that we\u2019re not stakeholders, we don\u2019t have a seat at the table currently, which I think needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The seven-time champion went on to cite the example of when new types of tyres are tested before being brought into the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI say to them, when I was doing the Pirelli test: \u2018You guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us, we don\u2019t want to be slagging off the Pirelli tyres, we know you can build a good product,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut their feedback will be coming from people who have never driven a car before. Speak to us, we\u2019ll work hand in hand, we can work together to approach the FIA so we can get a better product. The same with F1. We\u2019re here to work with you. We don\u2019t want to be slating our sport. We want the sport to succeed and so we need to be working together.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s like a [broken] record, you keep doing it and it\u2019s like small baby steps each time. But I have no doubt [we are aligned].\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the start of the season there has been widespread criticism of the new regulations from drivers, who have been vocal in their discontent at the role energy management now plays in the sport with an almost 50-50 split between power from the combustion engine and electrical energy.<\/p>\n
The deployment and recharging of the latter has come to dominate how drivers approach a lap and has led to considerable unhappiness, not least from Max Verstappen who has said he is considering his future in the sport, such is his disenchantment with the impact of the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope for more and more [driver input],\u201d said Verstappen. \u201cI think if we would have had that five, maybe even before, like five, six years ago, we probably wouldn\u2019t have been in the state that we are in now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen said he was also hoping for \u2018more driver input\u2019 into decision-making around race and vehicle regulations. Photograph: Antonin Vincent\/DPPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
The rule adjustments now employed focus on the parameters of the energy recovery management during qualifying and racing and there was guarded optimism in the paddock that they will prove to be effective, but there remains a strong feeling that greater driver input during the formation of new regulations would have potentially headed off the problems this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s completely correct, it\u2019s something that we want, it\u2019s what they have in a lot of other sports,\u201d Norris said of Hamilton\u2019s position. \u201cHaving a seat at the table is something we\u2019ve spoken about as the GPDA [Grand Prix Drivers\u2019 Association]. We\u2019re all very aligned with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I think we have to accept as drivers we\u2019re very blindsided. Maybe the externals from a business side of things, teams, how teams work, how all of that\u2019s organised. We have to accept that we\u2019re maybe not always completely correct. But the majority of things that we think of us as drivers and what we want for the sport is a win-win. It\u2019s better for us and it\u2019s better for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the drivers had a chance to put the new rules to the test in what will be an extended first practice session on Friday, there was further damning criticism of this year\u2019s formula from Aston Martin\u2019s Lance Stroll.<\/p>\n
Lance Stroll was withering in his assessment of this season\u2019s regulations. Photograph: Alastair Staley\/LAT Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fundamentally just so flawed. I\u2019m not an engineer, but maybe there\u2019s a lot of things that can be done. I don\u2019t have all the answers. It\u2019s sad that we\u2019re in this situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Canadian was also unequivocal when asked why he thought F1 felt the rules were working out well. \u201cF1 is a business and they want to protect their business, we\u2019re drivers and we know how it feels like to drive a good car, so there\u2019s two different perspectives on it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are watching the sport no matter what, so F1 is happy. But for the drivers, the fans, the people that really know about racing, know what it was like before, the drivers that know what it\u2019s like to drive really good, proper cars. There\u2019s no hiding behind the fact that right now it\u2019s not as good as it could be, it\u2019s far from good as it could be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton believes Formula One drivers should have a \u201cseat at the table\u201d in discussion on directions the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-639867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}