Turkish Grand Prix pole position star
Felipe Massa has come under fire for leaving the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), whilst
Lewis Hamilton has allegedly donated $30,000 USD to the body that meets regularly to discuss safety and other important issues within
Formula 1.
The Brazilian's departure comes just two days after
Toyota ace and GPDA stalwart
Jarno Trulli had slated some of his fellow drivers – Hamilton and defending world champion, and Massa's
Ferrari team-mate,
Kimi Raikkonen amongst them – for ‘not caring' about safety in the top flight. Membership of the GPDA costs $1,000 USD upfront followed by 200 dollars per point scored.
“If the top guys are uninterested, there's a lack of money for the GPDA to survive,” the Italian explained. “It's always the unlucky ones – the ones who get paid less – who have to sustain the costs.
“What I don't understand is that if 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 the track too.”
Massa's withdrawal – because, the Brazilian claimed, he ‘didn't always like the way it was run' – has also come in for criticism from countryman
Rubens Barrichello, a man who this weekend will become the most experienced driver in grand prix history.
“It is a personal decision,” the
Honda veteran told Spanish newspaper
Diario AS in Istanbul, “but it's not good for the rest of us.
“If the association wants to be a strong influence on the
FIA, it is very important to have the Ferrari drivers on-board. If we have the 20 guys of the grid discussing these things, then every situation is possible.”
Aside from Massa, Raikkonen and Hamilton,
Force India's
Adrian Sutil is similarly not part of the GPDA, but according to the
Daily Record, the British McLaren-Mercedes ace has now agreed to contribute $30,000 USD to the drivers' union, even if he has stopped short of signing up to become a member.
