Here is the reason for it: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=22298 Here is the story about it: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=22299 Most of the other sites I check are reporting the same thing. Could be interesting.
Maybe it will be Flavio that gets the boot, n'est pas? But then again, the team has just hit the spin cycle setting on the machine... http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=22300
I certainly wouldn't mind Flavio getting the boot. As far as I am concerned there is WAY to much "conflict of interest" with his various jobs. Renault says their driver line up won't change but does that mean Trulli will still have a race seat? Seems to me they could just give the seat to Montangy and say that their line up didn't change, they just changed their driver order.
From Atlas F1: Renault Rubbish Rumours of Replacing Trulli Monday September 13th, 2004 The Renault Formula One team have shot down rumours that they have plans to replace Italian Jarno Trulli in the remaining part of the season. Rumours in several websites suggested today that Canadian Jacques Villeneuve is set to replace Trulli after the Renault driver underperformed at the Italian Grand Prix last Sunday. Trulli, who will leave the French squad at the end of the year, suggested recently the team were trying to undermine him, a claim Renault boss Flavio Briatore denied over the weekend. "In seven years I have never had a teammate outqualify me here," Trulli said after being outqualified by his teammate Fernando Alonso by almost half a second on Saturday. "Fernando? I know that he is supposed to be in front of me at the moment and here we had yet another demonstration. He is the Renault driver now." Trulli, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix this year, has failed to score any points in the last five races, and he finished in a disappointing tenth place at Monza on Sunday. The poor streak of results has sparked rumours that Trulli could miss the final three races of the season, with reports suggesting 1997 World Champion could make a return to Formula One action this week at the Jerez circuit. The rumours, however, have been denied by Renault, who will not even be testing at the Spanish circuit. "The reports currently flying around the internet are pure speculation, and we strongly deny that any replacement will take place," a Renault spokesman told Atlas F1 today. "As an aside, the fact that such reports mention Villeneuve possibly testing at Jerez, when the team is in fact running at Silverstone, is a good indication of the level of factual content they contain. "We will test, as planned, with Alonso and [Franck] Montagny at Silverstone, evaluating further performance developments prior to the final flyaway races of the year." Published at 10:35:44
And yep those comments clearly backup Trulli's opinion ... ie. they are not interested in him anymore. Fair enough I say, while invest testing time and inform him of what they are developing when he is leaving the team anyway ... plus he is simply a journey man that has had his 5 minutes of F1 fame ... time to move out of the way for a racing driver. Pete
