Formula One news

Coulthard urges Mosley to listen to GPDA

David Coulthard has spoken out against Max Mosley's unwillingness to listen to drivers' opinions and believes that drivers should make sure their views are taken into consideration.

Referring to his spat with the FIA President at Monza this year, where the Scottish driver criticised the safety standards of the Italian track, Coulthard thinks the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) should have a say in Formula One safety issues.

"It isn't just a case of sounding off," he said in an interview in F1 Racing magazine. "We have views, and we can back them up with facts, and we aren't going to be intimidated into keeping our mouths shut for fear of getting a slap."

The Red Bull driver was not at all happy about how Mosley reacted to the drivers' complaints at the Monza Grand Prix.

"Instead of real answers we got a letter from Max saying we were speaking out of turn and that the terms of our superlicenses include a clause that says we aren't allowed to speak out of turn or against the governing body, etc," he said.

"All we were trying to do was request Max's assistance in a professional and non-hysterical manner.

"Of course this impasse is all the more surprising because Max and (FIA technical delegate) Charlie (Whiting) have always been such strong advocates of circuit safety and have done the sport a power of good over the years, something I'm damn grateful for."

"I can't imagine that at, say, NASA, if a professional body of astronauts were to present their views to the powers-that-be, they'd be told, 'Shut up and prepare for blast off.'

"The FIA recently commissioned a survey to find out what F1 fans think of the sport - and rightly so.

"I'm all for the fans expressing their views; I'm all for everyone involved in the sport expressing their views; why, then, must we drivers not express ours?"

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