F1 Drivers Accuse Fia In Licence Row

The row over the increased cost to drivers of obtaining a license to race in F1 has taken another twist after the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association accused governing body the FIA of using the price hike to fill budgetary gaps.

The price rose almost five-fold to 10,000 Euros (£8700) in 2008, and will go up in line with inflation this year.

The GPDA has challenged the FIA’s decision with F1 drivers advised not to pay the licence fee for 2009 as a result.

A GPDA statement read: ‘The proposed increases are inherently unfair, both in the way they were introduced and they way they impact on individual drivers.’

However FIA president Max Mosley responded by insisting that drivers were not really in a position to complain because of the salaries they earn.

He said: ‘In the present climate, somebody who is earning several million a year and doesn’t want to spend one or two per cent of that to get a licence for his trade is not going to get a lot of sympathy.’

He said the FIA might reconsider in a case of genuine hardship, but drivers should first disclose their gross earnings, a gesture which would be ‘irrelevant’, according to the GPDA.

The statement read: ‘Drivers’ gross and net earnings are confidential to the drivers, their management and financial advisors and any relevant tax authorities, and should be respected as such.

‘The FIA should raise sufficient funds from the exploitation of its commercial rights. As a principle, the drivers should not be taxed to fund the costs of others fulfilling their legal duty to the drivers.’