Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli has questioned the state of Grand Prix racing and believes the sport is at risk of entering an “irreversable” downturn.
Trulli, a veteran of 252 F1 career starts in F1 who raced mainly for Renault, Toyota and Lotus, insists that Formula 1 is no longer the dashing, high performance sport he once knew.
"What has Formula 1 become?" the 44-year-old Italian blogger Leo Turrini.
"Do you realise that in Singapore the drivers were 10-12 seconds per lap slower than the pole time? It's absurd, ridiculous.
"I imagine the dismay that guys like Kimi, Fernando, Lewis and Seb must feel, as they knew the Formula 1 that really was Formula 1.
"That F1 pushed from the start to the finish, but now you need to look after consumption, the tyres, so on. Without intervening quickly, this distortion of Formula 1 risks becoming irreversible.
"I regret it enormously because I love this world -- it represented so much of my life. What a pity," he added.
Trulli casts a critical eye on F1 but the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix winner is still mighty impressed with Lewis Hamilton's performance this year.
"He has always been strong but usually something goes wrong with him, but this time he has made no mistake," acknowledged Trulli.
"I'm sorry to say it but he has been better than Vettel. For Ferrari, the dream is fading once again."
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