GPDA right about "unhealthy" F1 - Senna

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association published an open letter last week calling for reform of F1 because it felt its 'obsolete' rules structure was a threat to the future.

Former F1 driver Senna has no doubts the move was a correct one because of the troubled state F1 was in right now.

"The GPDA is completely right," Senna told Motorsport.com.

"I mean, F1 is not a very healthy sport right now. There are a lot of negative feelings about the sport from people inside and people outside of F1, so I would say that the drivers need to be concerned about their jobs over the long-term.

"Some of these guys are going into F1 now and if people struggle to be in F1, there will be no F1 in future. So hopefully they will continue."

Right decisions

Senna thinks that a new approach is what F1 needs if it is going to improve in the future.

"Ultimately F1 is the pinnacle for motor racing. It is the championship that most race drivers, when they start racing, they dream of.

"I think if F1 doesn't exist, it is bad for motor racing. So I hope that it gets healthy, gets better - but I hope that it gets properly healthy with good decisions and not just more of the same."

The GPDA's call for change was backed by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and came just one day before the sport found itself forced to keep the under-fire elimination qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix because there was not unanimous support to change it.

Interview by Basile Davoine