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Damon Hill shared the story of one driver who managed to get the best of Bernie Ecclestone during the 1982 drivers’ strike in South Africa over the superlicence requirements.
With the introduction of the new F1 regulations, there has been a fair amount of discontent among drivers on the grid.
While reigning world champion Lando Norris was barred from criticising the new regulations, others like Max Verstappen have been far more vocal.
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Verstappen has hinted at retirement due to his frustration with the new regulations, feeling as though Formula 1 needed to return to pure racing rather than a hybridised approach.
Some believe Verstappen is playing a strategic game to put pressure on the FIA. If that is the case, he could benefit from employing Niki Lauda’s approach to the 1982 drivers’ strike in South Africa.
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Niki Lauda managed to earn the upper hand over Bernie Ecclestone
Damon Hill spoke recently on The Race’s F1 podcast, where he recounted how difficult drivers had it when Formula 1 was under the stern and watchful eye of Bernie Ecclestone.
Ecclestone was hesitant to give the drivers any power, mostly due to his experience dealing with Niki Lauda during the 1982 drivers’ strike in South Africa over the requirements for the superlicence being changed.
“I think Bernie (Ecclestone) was very, very aware that the drivers did have power. And he was never going to utter the words, ‘The drivers are the stars of the show.’
“And the reason he wouldn’t do that is because he knows that if they ever united together, they could pull all the levers, and he knew he was totally beholden.
“How did he know that? Because of South Africa, and the only man who has ever really been able to tangle with Bernie and get the upper hand, it was the drivers’ strike.
“It was largely Niki Lauda. I’d say Jody Scheckter had been in there as well. Didier Pironi. But definitely, Niki knew how to play this game of uniting drivers. And they got the changes made. But it was radical. It was a massive revolution.”
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F1 officials won’t allow modern drivers to leverage their power in similar way
Given the current level of dissatisfaction among drivers over the new regulations, one might wonder why they don’t go down the same route.
The lack of a credible and formal drivers’ union makes this very difficult, as F1 drivers are considered independent contractors and can’t unionise without high-level changes to the sporting structure.
Secondly, unlike the 1982 strike, not all the drivers are united in the negative sentiment over the new regulations. While there are overarching problems, some drivers prefer to make small tweaks to the regulations.
This could be because some teams, like Mercedes and Ferrari, have managed the jump to the new regulations really well, and don’t see the need to make larger changes when they are thriving.
So to force any change, drivers will have to act independently and leverage whatever value they hold in the eyes of officials to get their way.
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