Dissatisfied, the drivers paid their license

All the 2009 drivers have decided to pay the fees for the Super License after several attempts against the FIA aimed at eliminating it or at least reducing it.

The drivers remain very unhappy with the enormous license fee increase at the beginning of the 2008 season and have requested face-to-face meetings with Max Mosley, president of the FIA, before the Australian Grand Prix to discuss the issue.

The GPDA or ‘Grand Prix Drivers Association’ had urged its members to withhold the payment of their license, which is mandatory to participate in the Grand Prix. The organization tried to find a way to restructure the way the fees are calculated.

She considered that the increase in the license fee in 2008 from 1690 to 10000 euros combined with the rise in fees per point won from 447 to 2000 euros was fundamentally unfair. Moreover, a new increase has been observed at the beginning of this year.

Mosley remained adamant on the issue, stating that his fees were reasonable and that the drivers were free to participate in other races than those in F1 if they were not happy.

The situation could very well have escalated because there were fears of drivers on strike in Melbourne, even though such a scenario had been dismissed by several pilots.

But with only four weeks to go before the first race of 2009, the drivers and the teams have confirmed that all the drivers have now agreed to pay the fees.

Despite this decision, the GPDA still hopes for a return of the license to the 2007 levels.

According to some sources, the drivers agreed to pay the licenses because they did not want to force some of them into direct confrontation with their team, or cause problems in Australia, which would have been unfair to the fans.

The GPDA wrote to the FIA to express its feelings on the matter and request a face-to-face meeting with Mosley to discuss the situation as soon as possible.

« The drivers are all unanimous on this point. We must respond to Max Mosley before the Australian Grand Prix, » declared this mysterious source.

The Williams team revealed on Thursday that it was the first to pay the Super License fees for its three drivers.

The chief executive, Adam Parr said: « We just paid the fees, that’s all there is to it. They are paid. »

It is understood that another team, without knowing its identity, has also submitted the documents related to the license of its three drivers to the FIA.