'What has Formula 1 become?' questions former driver

Former Formula One 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 Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel should have to curb their instincts to drive quicker.

"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.

"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."

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