Trulli Accuses Schumacher of Dishonesty

Trulli and Schumacher are both directors of the GPDA, but the Ferrari driver was the only member to refuse his support to a call by the drivers for increased safety in the aftermath of the US Grand Prix.

Schumacher said he did not sign the letter simply because he did not like it, but Trulli believes that the German was not entirely honest.

"Michael has shown some signs of imbalance; he hasn't been honest for reasons which aren't completely clear," the Toyota driver told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We drivers are all united and it seems to me like there is only one against.

"We work towards safety and the position he's taken isn't suitable with what it should have been. His non-signing is a political act."

Schumacher has insisted that he has not backed his fellow drivers over the recent issues because of his belief that the events at Indianapolis were of a technical nature and not a safety matter.

Apart from Schumacher, the signatures of the three Red Bull Racing drivers were also missing from the letter to Mosley, but Trulli said they were instructed by the team to abstain from getting involved. He was also critical of Mosley himself, who cancelled a meeting with the GPDA to discuss safety matters, after the FIA president claimed the issue had become political.

"As far as the Red Bull drivers are concerned, they didn't sign because their team said they don't want to be involved in politics, so they didn't allow them," the Italian said.

"It must be clear that the role of the [drivers'] association is to give a contribution to safety, not to interfere with politics. It was important to listen to the drivers on this issue, but Mosley didn't want to."

Trulli is not the only driver openly angry at Schumacher's decision to stand alone in rejecting the recent safety moves.

"There are different opinions among us; [Schumacher] has his and we can't change it," Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella told the newspaper. "But since he's one of the [directors] in charge, and since at Indy it wasn't just a technical problem, he should have taken our side."

World Championship leader Fernando Alonso has even gone as far as questioning whether Schumacher should remain a member of the GPDA. "If everybody agrees except [Schumacher], then it might mean that he doesn't want to stay with us," the Spaniard said.

Schumacher himself has brushed aside the controversy and insisted there is no political motive behind his moves. "Disagreements are part of human nature," he said. "There are many interpretations, disagreeing opinions, strong characters. What can we do?"