Grosjean outlines GPDA’s four-point plan to improve F1

Romain Grosjean has outlined the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) four-point plan to improve Formula 1 under the regulation overhaul in 2021 after representing the body at a meeting earlier this week.

The latest summit between officials from F1, the FIA and the teams took place in Geneva on Tuesday, with GPDA director Grosjean and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel representing the drivers.

Grosjean said on Thursday in Germany that the meeting had been “long”, but felt it was “very important” that the drivers were directly involved.

“We’ve got four very clear points of where we want to go,” Grosjean said.

“There were discussions of a few things that we thought were completely useless to us in terms of making the show better, so we just need to keep on going on those four points, and keep the pressure on, and help Formula 1 to get better.

“[The] four points we have agreed on with every driver. It’s a majority vote in the GPDA, and if 51 percent of the drivers say this is the direction we want to go, then this is the direction we want to go.”

Grosjean revealed the four points of focus for the drivers were tyres, aerodynamics, car weight and the financial disparity between the teams.

“I think if you solve those four points, I’m sure the racing is going to be f**king good,” he added.

While many of F1’s proposals for 2021 have thus far centered on aerodynamics and a revision of the existing commercial structure, there has been a recent push to reduce the weight of the cars from the current minimum of 740 kg.

One solution has been a possible return of refueling to F1 – banned since 2010 – and while Grosjean said it had not been agreed upon for 2021, the move had the GPDA’s support.

“We want it, not because we think it’s great for racing but because we need to bring the weight of the car down to help Pirelli,” Grosjean said.

“It’s a temporary fix for the car to be 70 kg lighter or 60 kg lighter. It’s one of the reasons we are overheating the car like crazy. It will help the tyres which is the big weakness.

“When I started driving in 2009, they were 605 kg – now it’s 740 kg. 140 kilos, you can feel the car, in the low speed corners, they’re very heavy, and at the start of the race, even more - it’s 850 or something like that. And we just feel it’s too much for a Formula 1 car.

“[Refueling] is the easiest and cheapest way to bring 70 kilos off the car.”