The Grand Prix Drivers' Association, known by its acronym GPDA, was founded in 1961 because drivers wanted more say over the organization of races both in terms of safety and payment.
The GPDA is made up of active Formula 1 drivers and test drivers. But not all drivers need to join the group. Some drivers join, then quit, then join again.
The GPDA represents racing car drivers in areas such as safety, rules changes, insurance polices and even the image of F1 drivers. It also represents drivers in relations with the FIA, and it works closely with team engineers over car safety needs.
After the tire safety fiasco at the U.S. Grand Prix in 2005, the GPDA began to meet at every Grand Prix race.
The association is organized entirely by the drivers. It has no Web site, it issues no regular press releases and has only one employee for paperwork, a secretary based in Monaco. The budget comes from fixed annual dues and further payments depending on the number of points a driver earns at races. Leftover money is transferred to the following year's budget or given to charity.
It is made up of a group of directors and a president, all of whom are drivers, but votes on problems are usually unanimous.
It fought for boycotts over the safety of racing circuits, such as Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in 1969 and the Nurburgring in Germany in 1970, and then in 1976 after Niki Lauda's nearly fatal accident there.
It organized a drivers' strike in 1982 at the South African Grand Prix over its contract with the sport's governing body.
After a decade of silence, it re-emerged in 1994 after Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed at Imola, and Michael Schumacher became a director.
The GPDA worked with a team doctor to calculate the medical needs at test tracks and got the teams to agree to pay the costs.
