A key meeting between Formula 1 drivers and the FIA took place this week, but it didn’t bring the changes Oscar Piastri was hoping for ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. The McLaren driver had called for tweaks to the rules after a tough weekend in Las Vegas, where he and teammate Lando Norris were disqualified for illegal skid block wear on their cars. Now level on points with Max Verstappen and 24 points behind Norris in the championship, Piastri saw the gathering as a chance to address what he called rule-bending incidents that hurt the sport’s integrity.
Piastri’s frustration boiled over from a collision at Turn 1 in Las Vegas, where Visa Cash App Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson hit him without facing any steward penalties. “Ambitious, that’s for sure. But apparently okay,” Piastri said after the race. He pushed for clearer guidelines, saying some drivers were gaming the system and creating moments that didn’t fit clean racing. The Australian believed discussing these issues would make F1 better moving forward, especially with the title fight so tight.
The meeting wrapped up on Thursday night, but reports soon confirmed no rule changes would come for the final two races of 2025. F1 journalist Adam Cooper shared on social media that while updates were off the table, the FIA noted the drivers’ main concerns and preferences. This left Piastri’s push for immediate fixes unmet, even as the governing body acknowledged the need for ongoing improvements in safety and fairness.
Key takeaways from the session included a push for stricter yellow flag respect and ideas to boost safety further. Drivers favored post-race hearings when live info might be incomplete, and stressed the value of experienced stewards on panels since rules can’t cover every situation. There was also agreement on clarifying blue flags for lapped cars, with potential additions to the Driver Stewards Guidelines.
To drive the points home, the FIA reviewed five incidents from the season as examples, including Piastri’s clash with Kimi Antonelli in Brazil. While this showed the body was listening, the lack of quick action means Piastri and the field will race under the same rules in Qatar. With his strong history there—including a 2023 sprint win and third in the Grand Prix—he’s focused on grabbing points to keep his title dreams alive.
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