Renault’s technical director, Mike Gascoyne, has blasted Michael Schumacher’s comments about Jarno Trulli’s driving tactics at the Australian Grand Prix as “pathetic”. Gascoyne also denied rumours that the Italian was “a good qualifier,” but “bad racer”.
Renault’s technical director, Mike Gascoyne, has blasted Michael Schumacher’s comments about Jarno Trulli’s driving tactics at the Australian Grand Prix as “pathetic”. Gascoyne also denied rumours that the Italian was “a good qualifier,” but “bad racer”.
The four-time world champion caused a stir at post-race interviews last week when he said that Trulli’s driving tactics, while the Italian was defending second place in the early stages of the race at Albert Park, were “inappropriate”. Schumacher accused Trulli of “closing the door everywhere” despite the speed advantage the Ferrari held over the Renault at the time.
But Gascoyne has hit back, saying that Schumacher was out of order. “His comments about Jarno defending his position were pathetic and inappropriate,” Gascoyne was quoted as saying by. “Everyone wants to see racing and there were two guys racing for position. Michael had the better car and it’s up to him to pass.”
Schumacher finally got past Trulli when the Italian spun out of the race. Gascoyne, however, was quick to absolve Trulli of blame for the spin. Trulli’s spin was caused when his car skidded on oil laid down by team-mate Jenson Button in the aftermath of the first corner accident that eliminated Button from the race.
“Jarno was getting off line when he battled Michael, so his line through the first chicane was variable because he was having to take different lines into the corner to defend his position. We went and watched it from Michael’s in-car camera, and you can see the oil every lap. It’s just that Jarno hit the oil that lap because he was slightly off line.
“It’s very unfortunate – but you can’t blame him,” Gascoyne said.
Trulli has been branded “as a good qualifier but a bad racer” for the past two or three seasons. The determined Italian has shown good form in qualifying, but finishes – let alone top six placings – have not been forthcoming, especially when he was competing for Jordan during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, reported.
At Albert Park, Trulli displayed the talent that made CAR deputy editor and F1 aficionado John Bentley earmark him for 2001 championship honours. The Italian qualified in a strong seventh place, but again failed to make it to the chequered flag.
Renault’s technical director Mike Gascoyne, has come out in defence of his driver, claiming that the label of ”good qualifier, bad racer” was not reflective of Jarno’s true ability, and that he would soon be in a position to prove his critics wrong.
“He (Trulli) is annoyed he has this reputation for not being good in a race. The Jordan was very hard on its tyres, and it got very tail-happy in the races,” Gascoyne was quoted as saying.
“Jarno did not like that characteristic. Heinz-Harald Frentzen can drive that sort of car better, so he could hide it better. Jarno is going to have a cracking race soon and then he’ll go from strength to strength. It’s just a little mental hurdle for him to overcome.”