F1 drivers' WhatsApp group used to vote on rule changes

Valtteri Bottas has revealed the famous F1 drivers' WhatsApp group was full of activity during the April break as the sport assessed changes to the cars. 

A number of drivers voiced their displeasure across the opening rounds over the characteristics of the new challengers built this year under a fresh set of technical regulations.

A series of meetings between the FIA, F1 and the teams were held during April, resulting in measures that will be in effect this weekend in Miami.

The drivers also gave their input on the potential changes, aligning their views through polls in their WhatsApp group chat.

“We have this group chat on WhatsApp,” Bottas told media incliding RacingNews365.

“We've been communicating there quite a lot, and especially after Japan, we did some votes and stuff like that. 

“But everything is kind of aligned. I think everyone agrees it's a step in the right direction, but now we need to see these things in action. 

“All the drivers are aligned. It's sometimes only a couple of drivers that speak to the FIA, but normally they speak on behalf of all of us, the GPDA.”

Bottas stated the scale of the changes could have been greater, but acknowledged it posed a risk of significantly adjusting the pecking order.

“You could do a bigger change, but at the same time, I understand that you don't want to penalise any teams that have done well,” he said.

“You don't want to make a change that would change the order of the teams or anything like this. 

“So it's mid-season, doing big changes. But it's quite tricky. It's a good first step.”