Jarno Trulli has said that he is "not displeased" to have been let go by the Caterham Formula One team in favour of Russian driver Vitaly Petrov, with the Italian admitting that he had been prepared for such an eventuality.
The Caterham squad confirmed Petrov's signing last week, with the former Renault driver replacing Trulli at the team alongside Heikki Kovalainen.Trulli's Formula One career now appears to be over after 256 race weekends, with the Caterham squad appearing to opt for Petrov due to his extra sponsor backers.
But despite the eleventh hour decision, Trulli has insisted that he was prepared to be dropped, and said that he understood the team's reasons behind the move.
"Personally I'm not displeased," he told the Ansa news agency after Caterham confirmed that he was being replaced.
"I was prepared for a possible divorce from Caterham, in the knowledge that the difficult economic situation would have pushed the team to find an adequately-supported driver."
He went on: "Small teams have certain needs and contracts are clear. I hope that, with Petrov's contribution, all the people who work there can have a more serene future."
Trulli's departure from the sport means that the 2012 grid will be the first to feature no Italians for almost 40 years.
And he also took time to criticise the Italian motorsport development ladder, suggesting that the country should do more to find a new generation of F1 stars.
"Formula 1 without Italian drivers is a shame," he shrugged, "I'm sorry but the problem is not mine.
"Others must take responsibility for this impoverishment, for a situation that after all did not begin yesterday, and over which no action has been taken.
"In Italy there's no system that helps drivers emerge at high level, so it's normal it ends up in situations like this. There are talents, but without anyone's support they are hopeless."
He added: "I'd like to see more involvement from everyone, but at such a time of crisis for the country I can't see how a young driver can find help in order to be considered by any team."
And Trulli also hinted that while his time in F1 might be over, he was not planning on retiring from motorsport entirely.
"My job is racing driver and that's what I count on keep doing," he smiled, "Either in Formula 1 or elsewhere."
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