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Now there is real trouble in F1
The Grand Prix Drivers' Association has blown the lid off the rumours that have been doing the rounds in recent days about what Max Mosley said to GPDA chairman David Coulthard in a telephone conversation on Tuesday June 28 when he discovered that 19 drivers had submitted a statement to the FIA World Motor Sport Council in support of "a safety issue". This was in fact in support of the Michelin teams who withdrew from the United States Grand Prix because of tyre problems and the refusal of some of those involved in agree to a chicane.
The drivers have now issued an open letter to Mosley which says that they were "concerned to learn that during the course of this telephone conversation you suggested the FIA might withdraw support for the ongoing safety initiatives of the GPDA"
The letter added that previously Mosley had "dissuaded driver representation in Paris for the World Motor Sport Council meeting".
The letter adds that "The GPDA believes that safety issues are of the highest importance and are disappointed not to receive the full support of the FIA President in this matter."
The letter is signed by Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Takuma Sato, Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa, Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher, Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan, Patrick Friesacher, Christian Albers, Pedro de la Rosa, Robert Doornbos, Anthony Davidson, Ricardo Zonta and Alexander Wurz.
It was not signed by Michael Schumacher nor any of the Red Bull drivers.
The charge against Mosley is one which will not sit well with his position as a guardian of safety and the suggestion that he has been trading safety assistance for political reasons is serious indeed. We await a response from the FIA.
Maybe Rubens thinks he's going to BAR in 2006 now that DC is staying at The Bull.:PWas this the trigger?
Max Mosley earlier today cancelled a meeting planned for Friday meeting with the Formula 1 drivers to discuss safety measures with drivers. The FIA President called off the meeting because of remarks made by David Coulthard in an interview in The Times. Following these remarks, Mosley wrote a letter to Coulthard, the contents of which were leaked within hours to a website.
The letter said that "your press comments have distorted the purpose of the Silverstone meeting and made a calm discussion of a major safety issue impossible. As a result the meeting will not now take place."
It was then just a few hours before the drivers issued their statement about Mosley's conversation with Coulthard.
Oddly, Coulthard did not sign the letter. Nor did Michael Schumacher and neither did any of the Red Bull drivers
Red Bull Racing Christian Horner said that the team did not order its drivers not to get involved and that they were left to do as they pleased. It is nonetheless odd that all three refused to sign the GPDA document when 22 did sign.
It is also fascinating that Rubens Barrichello chose to sign the letter.
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