25/09/2007
NEWS STORY
Jarno Trulli believes that McLaren drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, should have been excluded from the 2007 Formula One World Championship, following the World Motorsport Council's ruling on the spy saga.
There was widespread incredulity among F1 insiders and fans following the recent decision, with may arguing that if the team was guilty of using Ferrari's information then its driver had benefited and should therefore punished in some way. However, such a move would have killed the 2007 World Championship stone-dead, and probably led to a mass switch off by TV fans, especially those attracted to the sport this year by the arrival of British rookie sensation Hamilton.
While many have remained tight-lipped regarding the lack of punishment for the drivers, Trulli, a leading light in the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, had no qualms about giving his view.
"It's very difficult to judge the spy story," he told Reuters. "You never know the truth if you're not inside the team Tuesday. But if you disqualify a team you should probably disqualify the drivers as well because they're all involved and work for the same team.
"It's difficult for me to judge," he admitted, "so I don't want to say any more. It's just a shame Formula One has suffered. The sport has been hit hard by this spy story all around the world."
Of course, the Italian driver's team has enjoyed its own little espionage saga in the past, however, as some more cruel than us might well point out, had the Cologne based outfit and its drivers also been excluded from the championship would anyone have noticed?