Vettel GPDA Director Retirement

Vettel Steps Back as GPDA Director After Retirement

09/02/2024

Sebastian Vettel, former F1 champion, steps down from his GPDA director role post-retirement. His decision, shared by Alexander Wurz, marks a new chapter for both Vettel and the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

Following the 2022 Formula 1 season, Sebastian Vettel concluded a career highlighted by 53 wins and four World Championship titles. In addition to his role as a driver from 2007 to 2022, the German also held the position of GPDA director, alongside George Russell, lawyer Anastasia Fowle, and former driver Alexander Wurz, who is also the president of the association.

Although he no longer races today, Vettel remained involved in GPDA activities. However, as Wurz recently shared, the four-time champion has decided to distance himself, despite his peers’ wishes. “Sebastian has stepped back in his active director role,” Wurz, who was on the F1 grid from 1997 to 2000 and in 2007, told PlanetF1. “But he of course remains a key member of the GPDA and its history. We are always delighted when he joins our discussions.”

All F1 Drivers Now GPDA Members

Since 2017, all drivers on the grid are also GPDA members. While George Russell has taken over the position previously held by Romain Grosjean after the Frenchman left Formula 1 at the end of the 2020 season, Vettel is not expected to be replaced in the short term: Wurz has indeed assured that the GPDA can operate with one fewer director.

“The GPDA statute provides for three directors,” he elaborated. “Throughout most of the GPDA’s history, we have had three directors, and this suits us perfectly. Given that each member has a vote and a director’s vote is the same as a member’s, having three or four directors does not influence the outcome.”

Vettel GPDA Director Retirement. Vettel GPDA Director Retirement

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