Formula 1 officials will meet with all 20 drivers ahead of the upcoming season to emphasise the importance of being “positive ambassadors” for the sport.
The news comes on the back of Nikita Mazepin’s groping scandal. The Haas rookie was also fined in a British court for running a red light. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali believes the Russian driver’s actions were just not acceptable and wants discussions to take place.
“I would say that it was pretty clear what Mazepin did was not acceptable,” Domenicali said.
“We need to make sure that that they understand we cannot joke about certain things. It’s not possible.
“They are too important not to understand and embrace that they are role models.”
these discussions follow a letter Dominecali wrote to GPDA president Alex Wurz. In it, he stated that it was “important that the drivers understand their value in being a positive ambassador for F1.
“Not only the sport, but also the values on which F1 is focussed.
“The ‘we race as one’ project, the diversity and sustainability projects. I invited them to a meeting. The target is to have it in Bahrain – to discuss and share this opportunity,” Domenicali said.
With the anti-Mazepin campaign on social media intensifying, Haas boss Gunther Steiner believes the young driver has understood the seriousness of his indiscretions.
“We settled it privately,” Steiner said.
“I won’t go into the details. It wasn’t right, Nikita apologised, he knows it’s wrong and for me, that is a sign that he understood.”