04/09/2008
NEWS STORY
Jarno Trulli, a leading light in the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), admits that he and several of his colleagues, continue to harbour fears regarding the forthcoming night race on the streets of Singapore.
As opposed to race fans, who fear the event could be another yawnfest like Valencia, Trulli is worried about driver safety.
"It's a new circuit, and we don't know much about it, the schedule, the times of running," he told reporters in Spa today. "We all are a little bit concerned about the night race and the poor weather which might occur there. It's a big question mark for everyone, we mustn't underestimate the situation."
Ever since the race was first announced, race fans have expressed concerns, not only at the prospect of another street race (sharp right / sharp left / sharp right again) but the whole idea of safety in terms of the lighting and the weather, the race taking place at the end of the monsoon season.
The race is being held at night in order to meet with Bernie Ecclestone's demands, even though the Englishman only owns one-hundred shares in F1, value $1.
Whereas Valencia hosted a number of events before the Grand Prix, Singapore remains untried and untested.
"In Valencia they did a good job, so I am confident they can do a good job for Singapore," added Trulli. "But the location is different and the climate conditions are different. We are all a little bit uncertain because we probably don't have enough data. I haven't seen the circuit layout but that's not the problem. The problem is we don't know if the circuit is good enough, if the surface is good enough, if we have enough run-off areas, if the safety is good enough for a night race in wet conditions.
"There are several question marks and several concerns," he admitted. "I'm not saying that I don't want to race there, but that we might encounter some more problems than in Valencia."
That said, when did the drivers' considerations come into it?