06/05/2010
NEWS STORY
Bruno Senna has called for a change to the qualifying format for next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, the Brazilian citing concerns over safety.
Ironically, it was on the streets of the Principality that the legend of his Uncle, Ayrton Senna, really began, finishing second on his debut in 1984 and going on to win there a record six times.
However, looking ahead to this year's race, Bruno Senna feels that the speed differential will compromise safety in Q1, especially with a bigger field than in previous years.
"We have to discuss this with Charlie Whiting, how are we going to do it," he told reporters at Barcelona today. "It's not a bad idea, to be honest, if they take maybe six or eight cars from the group of the slowest cars and then the other guys go in a different qualifying session, it will probably be a good idea for both.
"We don't want someone much faster than us coming to overtake us," he added, "and they don't want to be every lap getting someone slower. This is something that I am just making up right now. I am going to suggest this to them and see what they think, it's up to the FIA. The eight slowest from the aggregate of the practice sessions could be a good indicator."
The poroposal has the support of a number of other drivers, including Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, now with Lotus. "I would think that somehow the FIA should think to split us," he said, according to Reuters. "I don't know how to approach it but I think 24 cars on track is going to be hard. It's really going to be hard."
"This year with three teams who are at a much slower pace, it will be much more difficult," added Robert Kubica. "I have been racing in Monaco before with split qualifying and there are some advantages and some disadvantages, but for sure we will need some solutions. On the other hand, it will be very difficult to get everybody happy with one solution, so I think it is a bit of a difficult topic."