» Trulli trashes rumours he’s set to leave Lotus

Jarno Trulli has dismissed speculation that he is set to leave the Lotus Racing squad at the end of the season, insisting that he will remain on board in 2011.

Speculation heightened during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, with separate rumours reporting that Bruno Senna was set to replace the Italian next year, and that the Pescara-born driver was scouting for an opportunity to race in NASCAR.

However, the one-time race-winner claims the rumours are simply made up.

“It seems all invented to me, as are the rumours that I would go racing in NASCAR,” he told Italy’s Autosprint magazine.

“Before coming to Brazil I went to Miami and met [Juan Pablo] Montoya to exchange the Audemars Piguet watches that bear our names,” he added. “I’m calm about the future, as I’ve already been involved by [Mike] Gascoyne in the 2011 project.”

Trulli’s manager Lucio Cavuto also rubbished the rumours linking Senna to the 1Malaysian-owned squad, and claimed that the speculation had started in Senna’s camp simply to improve his bargaining power.

“Those are just rumours bandied about by Senna, who as far as I know has even had trouble respecting the financial obligations he took with Hispania this year,” he replied.

Trouble respecting his financial obligations? Ouch!

[Original image via LAT]