Villeneuve urged to return to GPDA

Sources have revealed that factions of the GPDA are unhappy that the drivers' body took no action against Schumacher over him stopping his car in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix in their last meeting at Silverstone two weeks ago.

There are suggestions that the matter will be brought up again in this weekend's meeting, which will be held after the official drivers' briefing on Friday.

Villeneuve quit the GPDA just hours after the Silverstone meeting, frustrated that the GPDA had not taken action against Schumacher, while de la Rosa had said he would resign if the seven-time world champion remained in the body.

The moves to re-ignite debate over Schumacher's action have prompted GPDA member Alex Wurz to try and push both Villeneuve and de la Rosa to remain active in the body so that they can play a role in the new Schumacher discussions.

Speaking to autosport.com, Wurz said that Villeneuve and de la Rosa needed to come back into the GPDA so that 'important changes' could be pushed through. He did not specify what these changes were, but it is believed they relate to Schumacher's position in the body.

"I strongly urge Jacques Villeneuve and Pedro de la Rosa to remain GPDA members," he said. "I've already spoken to Pedro, and I think he will now reconsider his decision to resign his membership. I'm planning to speak to Jacques as soon as I can.

"The point is that, as in any election, you cannot object to the outcome if you don't take part in the voting. In our case, you cannot make the important changes we need to make if you aren't an active GPDA member.

"Pedro and Jacques were and should continue to be active, valuable, principled and articulate GPDA members. Whatever motivated their decision to resign can only be achieved with drivers like them as members.

"Or, to put it another way, the only way they can see their motivations made into reality, and the only way they can fight for what they think is right, is to stay in."

Although GPDA director Jarno Trulli made moves last week to play down the GPDA's lack of action against Schumacher, claiming the body was solely involved in safety, Wurz has insisted that is not the case.

"It's the function of the GPDA to be a forum for any discussion involving drivers, and all drivers should be involved."