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Ex-F1 Driver Laments Sad State of F1

Published 09/25/2018, 12:38 PM EDT

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Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli has questioned the direction of the current Formula One product which he believes pales in comparison to that of previous years. The former Renault driver was scathing in his assessment, calling it “absurd” and “ridiculous”.

Trulli made 252 career starts in Formula One for Renault, Toyota, and Lotus between 1997 and 2011, so is certainly no stranger to the highs and lows which the sport can generate.

The Italian has questioned what the sport has become, and believes it is a “pity” that talented drivers such as Kimi RaikkonenFernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel should have to curb their instincts to drive quicker.

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“What has Formula 1 become?” Trulli told Italian journalist, 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 did, however, reserve some praise for Hamilton’s performances this season, and confessed that the team of his home nation, Ferrari, can more or less give up on the title.

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“He has always been strong but usually something goes wrong with him, but this time he has made no mistake,” he said of Hamilton.

“I’m sorry to say it but he has been better than Vettel. For Ferrari, the dream is fading once again.”

The Italian has been in the sport for a long time, from 1997 to be precise. He has seen the sport go through several changes until his retirement in 2011.

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Formula One has also gone through many changes after Trulli’s stint in F1 but it seems that not many are fans. The likes of Trulli, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel, hailed from a time where F1 could actually push the limits.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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