Jarno Trulli criticizes pay drivers

The target for Jarno Trulli is obvious: Vitaly Petrov. Indeed, the Italian driver stated to La Repubblica: “Some teams are small. To survive, they have to count their money. So they are forced to rent out their seats. It’s an economic decision but from my point of view, it’s not worth the cost.”

This is how he criticizes the decision made by his former employer Renault, to finish the season with two drivers having a comfortable financial cushion: Look at what happened at Renault: as long as they had Kubica, a good driver capable of getting the best out of the car, they were considered outsiders. From the moment Robert was sidelined, they were finished. Petrov wasn’t capable of leading the team and the car, and Senna showed he wasn’t good enough. Nick, with his experience and despite only competing in half the season, was able to score almost as many points as Petrov. So now they are trying to correct course by going back to Räikkönen, who is not a rookie, and Grosjean, who climbed the ranks. These days, it’s a question of survival, so a different approach is necessary. But as soon as your ambition grows a bit, this approach becomes a losing one, in my opinion.

It is interesting that Jarno Trulli takes the example from Renault. Indeed, when he was recruited, Vitaly Petrov clearly had the goal of bringing in money necessary for the car’s development, which would be ensured by Robert Kubica. However, this strategy failed due to the Polish driver’s rally accident. The team then decided to turn to another experienced driver, Nick Heidfeld.

She only decided to dispense with the services of the German from the moment the development of the single-seater had taken such a hit with the ban on blown diffusers, the team’s main technological innovation, that it became important to secure funds to prepare for 2012, leading to the appointment of Bruno Senna. It was an all the more logical decision as the team was firmly holding onto its fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. With the recruitment of the 2007 world champion and the reigning GP2 champion, the team clearly displayed its ambitions, especially since the appointment of Romain Grosjean certainly cost the termination of the contract held by Vitaly Petrov for 2012.

But beyond the lack of experience of paying drivers, Jarno Trulli finds that there is a lack of the necessary fighting spirit from drivers who need to prove themselves to continue: « It’s not a rule, but it is true that those who pay are less accustomed to suffering. They are less determined. When you climb the ranks as a young man, you often find yourself in conditions that force you to win. Either you achieve the required result, or you don’t get a second chance. I remember it very well. I was a kid and was karting. My father came to see me with the most serious expression I had ever seen on him and said: “Jarno, this is your last chance. We have a chassis, four wheels, and an engine. We have this race but we can’t go beyond this.” The only thing I knew was that I had to win, no matter the conditions. My career only moved forward thanks to that victory.»

Nevertheless, not all pay drivers are bad drivers. The best recent example is Sergio Perez. When the Mexican joined Sauber, many insinuated that his spot was only linked to the dollars brought in by his sponsor, Telmex. However, he proved that he deserved a place in F1 by being very close to his teammate, Kamui Kobayashi. As a driver of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he is clearly one of the candidates to take Felipe Massa’s seat at the end of the 2012 season.

But Jarno Trulli’s statements may only be related to the fact that the two drivers he mentions (Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna) are precisely without a seat for next season and could pressure Caterham’s management to do without an old, expensive driver (around two million dollars) who hasn’t proven much over the past season…

With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr