Drivers Divided on Need to Reduce Speeds

Toyota's Olivier Panis, the oldest driver in Formula One, sees no need to slow the cars down.

But Italian Jarno Trulli, who carries Renault's hopes in their home French Grand Prix on Sunday, says something has to be done for safety's sake.

Drivers were divided on Thursday when asked about International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley's message that changes had to be pushed through to keep rising speeds in check.

"If I feel that Formula One is too quick then I will stay at home," said Frenchman Panis, 37.

"We need to have quicker cars in Formula One because that's why we're here, why we like Formula One and everybody else too and also we need to have some fighting, some overtaking even with drivers who perhaps take some little bit of a risk.

"But this is Formula One for me. If you need to make a rule for speed, a rule for overtaking, a rule for everything, there's no point at the end of the day."

Trulli, one of the leaders of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association that represents the 20 racers on the grid, disagreed in a separate news conference.

"We need more safety, we need to take care of the speed and to slow them (the cars) down," he said. "We can suggest to them (the FIA) what we think as drivers could be the best way to slow the cars down, or to make our sport safer, but for sure there is something to do."

The debate on speeds has intensified after Germany's Ralf Schumacher and Brazilian Felipe Massa had big accidents in the US and Canadian Grands Prix respectively.

Schumacher suffered two spinal fractures in his crash at Indianapolis and faces up to three months out of the sport according to medical estimates.