Formula E drivers send bombshell letter to FIA president calling for change

All 20 of the current Formula E drivers have signed an extraordinary letter sent directly to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The letter sets out criticisms of what the drivers feel to be substandard stewarding, race direction and application of some of the sporting regulations in the all-electric series.

After receiving a copy of the letter, The Race can reveal details of its contents, which was sent to Ben Sulayem by drivers' group representatives Lucas di Grassi and reigning Formula E champion Oliver Rowland on March 11. 

The sensational communication outlines a menu of grievances, some of which have long festered in Formula E from the drivers’ viewpoint. 

These include several on-track incidents and also a perceived lack of fundamental understanding of the style of racing seen in Formula E. Several drivers, on condition of anonymity, have also, unsolicited, previously told The Race that they have little or no professional faith in several senior officials in Formula E.

The letter

The bombshell communication, addressed directly to the FIA president Ben Sulayem, begins with a declaration that the drivers "see a lot of effort and improvement year over year with the local ASNs, marshalling, safety, track conditions, technical fairness and general protocols".

But it then goes on to outline that the drivers wish to "formally express our shared and growing concern regarding the current standard, consistency, and procedural coherence of stewarding and race direction within the championship".

Included in the requests made by the drivers is a specific query on FIA Formula E race director, Marek Hanaczewski. The drivers ask for an "internal evaluation of (the) race director (sic) understanding and reasoning of the sporting rules", adding "without the capacity – and humility – to acknowledge and learn from mistakes, there is little evidence of continuous improvement".

It also requests actions that include "appointing driver advisors with direct Formula E experience" and "conducting an independent review of stewarding consistency".

Additional topics and points mapped out in the explosive letter include:

• Inconsistency in decision-making and penalty application
• Lack of continuity in stewarding panels
• Driver advisors and championship-specific expertise
• Race director logic, leadership, communication and transparency

Drivers are also understood to have wanted much more consistency in decisions and also clarity in the application of the sporting rules in Formula E. 

Several of what are considered as key requests set a conclusion to the letter. These include a wish for the creation of a "formal structured driver-race direction forum, publishing clearer championship-specific stewarding guidelines, an independent review of stewarding consistency", and the "creation of error-correcting mechanisms in the processing of applying and delivering penalties".

The Race has learned that FIA president Ben Sulayem is initially scheduled to make what will be a rare appearance at a Formula E race at Jarama this week. 

In a statement supplied to The Race, an FIA spokesperson said that the FIA is “in regular correspondence with ABB FIA Formula E World Championship manufacturers, teams and drivers on a variety of topics. We are reviewing the comments on sporting matters raised recently by drivers, and will continue with the same proactive approach to develop and invest in this championship, ensuring the highest standards are maintained.” 

Formula E Operations, the promoter of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Race this week.

Drivers' letter shocked their own bosses

Formula E team principals were unaware of the letter's existence until after it was delivered last week.

The Race understands that while one of the bosses was aware the communication might be a possibility, most of them were completely  in the dark that the letter had been collated, signed and sent.

The communication was sent on Wednesday March 11 but some team chiefs were not aware until over 24 hours after its delivery.

The fallout out from the team bosses not being aware could result in internal action against some drivers. The Race has learned that at least two teams are considering withholding bonus payments to drivers this month, while others are deliberating on possible fines.

None of the 10 Formula E team principals were prepared to go on record regarding the letter but The Race has discovered that the Formula E Teams and Manufacturers (FETAMA) has been in communication with the governing body distancing the teams from the drivers' actions.

That is not to say that the team principals were not sympathetic to their drivers' concerns, more that they were not consulted or made explicitly aware of the communication sent to President Ben Sulayem on March 11.

One senior team figure also told The Race this week that he had in fact some sympathy with the FIA, especially race director Hanaczewski.

"I think Marek has done a decent job," he said on condition of anonymity.

"He works with the teams and gets feedback from the drivers. So I'm not sure it [the letter] was fully justified."

The fallout 

Could this be Formula E’s Kyalami 1982 moment?

Just over 44 years ago, Formula 1 drivers infamously went on strike at the South African Grand Prix over a licence dispute with the governing motorsport body at the time, FISA. It ended with the drivers believing that they had won the conflict before later being issued significant fines for their actions.

The 20 Formula E drivers have definitely been aligned and organised in their recent correspondence to the FIA president, and The Race has learned that they took the action because they felt unheard in the paddock itself for so long. 

Taking such an extreme measure by sending a letter directly to the FIA president is a huge gamble by the drivers because the action clearly calls into question the professional capability of crucial elements of direction in the world championship, especially in relation to the race director and the entire stewarding of the series.

While the FIA won't be glad of it being made public, the bigger picture is that the collective concerns of the drivers also simply cannot be disregarded now.

Could Formula E’s present situation with the drivers’ grievances still pan out in similar style to F1 all those years ago at Kyalami? That is highly unlikely because the drivers’ contracts with their employers are so much more detailed and have fuller compliance articles.

As well, there is no current steer on if the situation will evolve or blow up further, with the FIA issuing the above generic but calming statement.

Much more likely is that the driver's grievances will be considered initially but largely stalled and dismissed in an effort to try to defuse some of the topics which would need fundamental long-term restructuring.

All that is not to say that the drivers are ignored or that the FIA chooses to undermine them completely. Race director Hanaczewski has been proactive on several areas, including driver guidelines and several other sporting matters, recently. 

Hanaczewski took over from Scot Elkins after a period of riding shotgun with Elkins, who was effectively his mentor for several years. From Poland, Hanaczewski began working at the FIA in 2017 as an FIA race control operator and worked with Elkins up until the Californian stood down from the role for business and personal reasons after the Miami E-Prix last April at Homestead. 

The majority of drivers held a deep respect for Elkins, who presided over the majority of the E-Prixs since Formula E's creation in 2014.

They felt that Elkins clearly understood the nuances of driving Formula E cars well, but that they also often felt that the stewards and driver advisors were out of touch with the intricacies of specific techniques of driving Formula E cars, specifically energy-saving strategies that sometimes contributed to sporting flashpoints on the racetrack.

Driver advisors to the stewards have been consistent presences in Formula E, working with the stewards. Ex-racers such as Paul Belmondo, Pedro Lamy, Enrique Bernoldi and Johnny Unser have appeared.

But the fact that none of them had ever driven a Formula E car or competed internationally for several years concerned the drivers after some decisions in particular.

This writer personally recommended Alexander Sims to a senior FIA delegate as a driver steward, prior to the start of the 2024 season. The former BMW Andretti and Mahindra driver first took a stewarding advisory role at the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix in March 2024. He has appeared several times since. 

The fact that the FIA does not consistently have Formula E experienced driver advisors is one of the key objections that the drivers have. But the FIA has also again been proactive in recent times on this topic too.

Hanaczewski outlined a new driving guidelines manual to drivers at the start of the present season and the FIA has recently implemented a new out-of-competition stewards panel for the rest of the 2025-26 Formula E season.

This is headed up by the chairman of the stewarding panel, Achim Loth, who attends all E-Prixs and who has extensive knowledge in international motorsport.