Jarno Trulli accuses paying drivers in F1

The veteran Jarno Trulli talked about the influence the “paying drivers” in F1.

Although the Italian had a year left on his contract with Caterham, his place was often subject to speculation, with Daniel Ricciardo first, and with Vitaly Petrov onwards.

Trulli gave the example of Petrov and Senna, who were fired by Renault despite having a significant amount of sponsors.

“Kubica is a great driver who can get the most out of every car. This is why [Senna and Petrov] were the wrong choice. When Robert was unable to race, it was the end for Renault. Petrov wasn't capable of being a leader in the team, and Senna proved he wasn't up to the task."

Senna took over from Nick Heidfeld at the Belgian Grand Prix. “With his experience, Nick [Heidfeld] got almost as many points as Petrov, but Nick only raced half the championship,” Trulli said. “There is no rule, but paying pilots suffer less, they feel less committed”.

“Their hiring is a business issue but in my opinion it's not worth it.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner also expressed his opinion on paying drivers: "For a team it is necessary to find the correct balance between financial and talent considerations." “It's something as old as F1.”

Stefano Rifici