Ralf: GPDA now needs to focus on safety

Ralf, elected chairman of the GPDA on Friday, said the seven-time world champion's place at the centre of many of the talking points in racing in recent years had deflected the drivers' body from its main task.

"Michael was dominant in Formula One for the last 10 years and so, as you'd expect, in most of the matters involved he was part of the discussions," Ralf told reporters. "If particular persons were involved, they were a little more aggressive towards him.

"I just hope that will calm down a bit, because there was always this idea that Michael and Ferrari had a very special treatment. This is gone now and I hope that will help it to focus on the real issues."

Those, as far as the Toyota driver is concerned, are not political or regulatory but about the safety of drivers at the race track and in testing.

"The GPDA is strong and can do something for the safety, but again I make my point very clear, only for the safety," he said.

"We are not here to change any rules. When they are talking about qualifying and rule changes, we are more than happy to be involved because we're the guys who do it and perhaps we can bring some benefit. But our main focus is safety."

At the Italian Grand Prix, the GPDA complained about safety standards at the Monza circuit but received short shrift from the FIA.

"It's very obvious that something needs to be done," he said. "We understand that there are commercial and financial issues but at the end of the day after so long there things that need to be changed. It's a clear sign that we are unhappy."

The Jerez track, where much of Formula One testing is done, is another concern.

"The safety level at tests is below where it should be and we do more laps testing than we do racing so that's something that needs doing," he said.

Australian Mark Webber has returned to the GPDA board, while Renault's Fernando Alonso has also been made a director.

"Fernando is a very reasonable and calm guy and he's the current world champion, which always adds more weight to the opinions we carry over to the FIA on safety issues," Ralf added.

"And secondly, he has not always been so much in favour of the GPDA and this gives him a chance to learn more about the work of the GPDA."