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Trulli criticises non-GPDA drivers

Jarno Trulli has criticised the Formula One drivers who are not members of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, saying they don't contribute to the body but still reap the benefits of its work

The Italian says every driver to help fund the organisation, even if they decline to be part of the decision-making process.

"There are some drivers who couldn't care less but they take advantage of the work done by others," he told Autosprint. "What these sensationally uninterested drivers don't understand is that the GPDA has a price. We fund it with a fee on the points scored.

"If the top six drivers are the uninterested ones, then there's a lack of money to survive and it's always the unlucky ones, the ones who get paid less, that have to sustain the costs. The figures are little. The entry fee was one thousand dollars, now it's probably one thousand euros, then you pay something like two hundred dollars per point scored.

"But what I don't understand is that you might not want to be part of the GPDA, then you can do what you want, but at least pay the money since you go on track too.

Trulli is frustrated that the drivers who choose not to be part of the GPDA don't appreciate the importance of the work it does.

"The most outrageous thing is that a top driver doesn't give a damn about his safety," he added. "For me, that's unacceptable. Even drivers that were part of the association and left pretend not to understand, and don't read what we do.

"If it wasn't for the GPDA, and for Riccardo Ceccarelli of Formula Medicine, then if one of these guys had an accident during winter testing he would have risked his life. The minimum safety requirements were lack yet they don't care and leave the association, this means they are truly insane."

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