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Last updated 11^th April 2008

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Trulli Praises Dernie's Input at Toyota

Frank Dernie and Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli has praised the input of veteran Formula One engineer Frank Dernie in Toyota's progress during the 2008 season.

Dernie, who has been in F1 for three decades working for teams like Lotus, Benetton, Arrows, Lola and Williams, joined Toyota during the past season as senior advisor.

The Japanese squad have enjoyed an encouraging 2008 so far, with Trulli having finished in fourth in Malaysia and sixth in Bahrain.

"Frank is one of the people who has given a lot of input to the team, but it is not only one person which can change the whole situation," Trulli told autosport.com.

"But Frank is definitely someone I like, because he has got a lot of experience and he can give a lot to this team. He can tell you exactly with a racing spirit, what can happen and what will happen.

"He knows where we should go. And I must say we are sharing the same feeling about the way we want the car and the way we want to work. So I am very happy."

Dernie travelled to Bahrain, his first grand prix visit this year, although Trulli doesn't believes it's necessary for the Briton to go to all races.

"Well, it is not up to me," he added. "But the team in general seems at the moment well settled down, everyone is doing his own job and Frank is helping with the general things. And he will be in charge of sorting things for next year's car."

Trulli believes Toyota are finally moving in the right direction after a couple of torrid seasons:

"I believe that people have understood a lot about what was wrong with the car, and what they wanted for this year. I must say at the moment that we are going, more or less, in the direction that I always wanted. It is proving that it is a good direction, the car seems quicker and is quicker, and is delivering more performance. But also compared to last year, we can balance the car. Last year we were in a corner and could not balance it out, because the window was so small. This year our window for set-up work and balance work is much wider, so you can play with it a bit more. It makes the car much sweeter."

Jarno Praises The Team

24^th March 2008

Jarno Trulli has dedicated his strong fourth place in the Malaysian Grand Prix to his team; after praising their efforts over the winter

Jarno said he was delighted with this early season boost.

"I split the McLarens for most of the race, I was fighting always with them," he said. "They were slightly quicker than me in some occasions but I never gave up. I was really biting their tails all the way through the race, and at the end it was Hamilton's turn to give me a hard time. But I wasn't going to give up then either. I really wanted this fourth place for the team and me. We did a great job, and I dedicate this result entirely to the team. They did a very good job over the winter time. They now gave me the car to fight and they are supporting me. They did a great job during the whole weekend and I am pleased for them as well."

Although Jarno’s chances of a podium were wrecked by a first corner tangle with Nick Heidfeld, the Italian believes that even without that he would have struggled to do much better than fourth.

"I went a little bit wide down the main straight and I didn't see Nick at all, because now with this side cockpit headrest being higher, it is difficult to see any car on the side. So we touched each other a little bit and we lost a little bit of time. After that, I just did my own race. It would have been better to get out third from the first corner, but I feel as though we could not keep that position because our pace was not as quick as the other cars in front."

Q & A WITH JARNO

Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office. 24^th March 2008

Q. Jarno, fourth place at Sepang, how satisfying is that?

Jarno Trulli: It's great. I really wanted the fourth place and I dedicate it entirely to the whole team. They have done a very good job over the winter, have given me the car to fight, they are supporting me and the race team did a great job all weekend in Malaysia.

Q. Do you feel the result is representative of the TF108's pace?

JT: The team did a great job all weekend and we deserved to be fighting at the front. I was fighting with the McLarens for most of the race and maybe they were slightly quicker than me on some occasions but I never gave up and we looked really competitive. In the final laps it was Lewis Hamilton's turn to give me a hard time but I just kept fighting and the last 13 laps were more like a qualifying run, with no breathing space at all. Malaysia, with the heat and humidity, is maybe not the best place to have to do that, but that's the way it was.

Q. What happened at the first corner, where you lost some places?

JT: I started third but I went a bit wide at the end of the straight into Turn 1. I didn't see Nick Heidfeld on the outside of me at all because, actually, with the higher head protection it is harder to see cars at the side. We touched a little and I lost a bit of ground to Kubica, Webber and Hamilton.

It would have been better to get out of Turn 1 in third place but I don't think we could have kept a podium position because our pace was not quite as quick as some of the others. I think fourth was probably the best we could have achieved and that's what we got, so it was great.

Q. Were you concerned about Hamilton towards the end?

JT: I was just pushing and pushing. I was on the prime tyre at the end and we were having a tougher time on hard tyres; with the option tyre we performed better. I was really trying, I gave everything and fought to the end and made it by a couple of laps maybe.

Hamilton had caught me on the last lap or two but getting past is a different thing. This is the kind of result we can expect when we do a great job and when we get the car right. I believe that we have the car to fight with this year and that's a great boost because with last year's car I couldn't do that.

Q. Did you feel confident right from the start that the car had the pace to score strong points?

JT: Yes, it was a pretty satisfying weekend because we were always performing in the top six or seven from the start. We did some good long runs in Friday practice and I was quite confident for qualifying, although everything was so tight that anything could happen. One tenth of a second could make a big difference to your qualifying. In Q3, if I had been one tenth quicker I would have been third fastest and if I had been one tenth slower I'd have been seventh.

That's how competitive Formula One is at the moment. But the car was well balanced and we found some good set-ups that improved the situation quite a lot from first practice. In general we are where we thought we should be after the last Barcelona test. The McLarens and Ferraris are obviously ahead of us, and we are maybe two or three tenths behind BMW, but we can fight the rest.

Q. Were you pleased that the predicted rain failed to materialise?

JT: We have to cope with whatever we get but I prefer dry and stable conditions because sometimes when it rains in Malaysia it is really bad.

Q. Was that a concern without driver aids?

JT: It's obviously more difficult. You have to be careful but I won't say it's dangerous because we have to drive in whatever we get, we have enough safety in Formula One and it's good to have no driver aids. We have more fun.

Q. How was the race from the physical point of view in those conditions?

JT: It wasn't too bad but obviously at the end I was very hot after pushing so hard. But during the race I was so busy driving flat out to keep Hamilton behind me that I didn't have time to think about it. Compared to what we are used to in Malaysia it was a bit cooler this year but the humidity still makes it quite unpleasant.

Q. Timo had some delays on his way to Kuala Lumpur, but what did you do between Australia and Malaysia? Do you do any special training to cope with the humidity?

JT: Normally we have two or three weeks between the two races but this year there was only a week and so there was very little time to do anything. I felt sorry for Timo when I heard his Sydney connection had been cancelled and he spent 40 hours getting to Kuala Lumpur, on his birthday as well.

I didn't have a problem because I was going to Brisbane on some business and everything went okay. I just tried to relax a little. I exercised when I got to Malaysia but in reality, you have done your training and you have what you have. If you are not in good condition when you arrive, it's a bit late. Toyota has travelling doctors who give good advice on nutrition and, of course, on keeping your fluid levels up.

Q. You tested in Bahrain over the winter so are you anticipating another strong race?

JT: We had a positive test over the winter in Bahrain and we know what to expect there with our car. We have to continuously improve our car performance if we are to challenge the top teams but I think we can fight for the top six again. The top cars are a little bit out of reach but we showed in Malaysia that we have the potential to get a really good result when we get everything right with the car and the team does a perfect job.

Jarno Trulli, Toyota, during testing February 2008: Jarno Trulli thinks Toyota could be the surprise of the 2008 season after the TF108 car has proven to be competitive during winter testing.

After a dismal 2007 season, Trulli believes Toyota are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and are ready to fight near the sharp end of the field. Trulli told Gazzetta dello Sport:

"I wouldn't be shocked if we turn out to be the surprise of the year. The greatest satisfaction is seeing the smiling faces in the team after two years of just disappointments. Finally we see the light at the end of the tunnel and we have the sensation that something is changing.

"Ferrari and McLaren are from another planet, but we can fight in the group that includes BMW, Renault, Williams and Red Bull."

He added: "A driver realizes immediately whether he has a good car in his hands or not, and since the first test I realized that I had a different animal in my hands.

"But it was in Bahrain where we realized that we were on the right track because, while slower than Ferrari, we've improved, and by a lot, over last year's laptimes."

Trulli reckons Toyota still need to work on their qualifying form, but the Italian is adamant he will be able to make up for any problems.

"We aren't yet at our best in qualifying, but that's not a problem because over a single lap I'm always able to come up with something," he said.

The Toyota driver again praised the input from expert engineer Frank Dernie, who has joined the team as an advisor. "He is full of ideas. But the thing I liked best during pre-season was that the team finally listen to me more, and we are starting to see some results."

Q&A With Jarno

10^th October 2007

Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.

Q. Jarno, after Fuji another unpredictable race at Shanghai, how did you see it?

Jarno Trulli: Yes, it was very difficult, as was the whole weekend for me. You can be lucky or not in changing conditions and things didn't go my way in the race. I had problems with the car in qualifying and I didn't make it into Q3 as I would expect to do. The race started on the wet Bridgestone tyres and I got quite a decent start and was running 12th.

Q. What was your strategy in those conditions?

JT: We went for a one-stop strategy and I stopped on lap 25 of the 56. A dry line was starting to go down and we could see from the lap times that those drivers changing onto dry tyres were starting to be competitive. So we went onto dry tyres and hoped that the circuit would continue to dry. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I put dry tyres on, it started to rain again. It is always a tough call in that situation, whether to go back in for wets, as some drivers did, or to continue on dries and hope the rain stops. That's what I did but I lost quite a lot of time with dry tyres and a heavy fuel load on a slippery surface. All I could do was to push as hard as I could and get the best result I could.

Q. You said you had a problem in qualifying. What was that?

JT: On my first run I just did not have the same balance as in Friday practice, when the car was very competitive. Ralf showed that by qualifying sixth but for me, there was no chance. My lap times in Saturday morning practice and qualifying were not what we expected. There was nothing really wrong with the general set-up, it was exactly the same as Friday. The grip level was lower compared to Friday and I was finding I had to brake earlier. It was difficult to do the same lap times as Friday.

Q. And the situation was only affecting your car?

JT: Yes, because Ralf was able to show the real performance of the car and qualify sixth. On Friday I was very happy and competitive and then, on Saturday morning, Ralf was quick and I was short of pace. It was a big disappointment.

Q. Approaching the final race of the season, how would you assess 2007?

JT: Well, it hasn't been a good season for us and obviously we are disappointed by our results. It's been difficult and we haven't met our expectations, but I hope we can put that behind us and move forward again.

Q. How about next year?

JT: The challenge is how quickly we can develop the car. Obviously there is quite a lot that we have to gain compared to our competitors if we want to be at the front. And clearly the others will make steps forward as well, so we have work to do. I have given all of my feedback in our discussions about next year's car, trying to give as much input as possible.

Q. What are your thoughts on the Brazilian Grand Prix?

JT: It's great to race in Brazil because the fans there are so passionate about motorsport. It's also a challenging track so that should make for an interesting weekend for the team and the drivers. I am very motivated as always and I really hope we can finish the season on a positive note.

Jarno on Spygate

FIA president Max Mosley has said he would have taken away all points won by Alonso and Hamilton had he got his way following the damaging "spygate" scandal.

Jarno Trulli agreed that the McLaren pair had been lucky.

"It's very difficult to judge the spy story. You never know the truth if you're not inside the team," the Italian said in an interview before this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

"But if you disqualify a team you should probably disqualify the drivers as well because they're all involved and work for the same team.It's difficult for me to judge so I don't want to say any more. It's just a shame Formula One has suffered. The sport has been hit hard by this spy story all around the world."

Trulli compared the damage done by the spy case to the farcical 2005 US Grand Prix when only six cars - those using Bridgestone tyres - raced due to safety concerns.

"It's hurt the image of F1 like when we didn't race in the USA," he said. "This is part of the sport and part of the business of F1. That's what it is - a business.

"We have to get back on the track and put on great races and try to rebuild the sport's credit in the future."

Extracts from Monza Thursday Press Conference

Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Mark Webber (Red Bull).

Q. What about the changes to this circuit that the GPDA requested? Are you happy with them? Jarno, your feelings on the subject?

Jarno Trulli: Well, I already expressed my feelings and I feel it's quite positive what Monza circuit has done. Obviously, as Mark says, we travel at very high speeds here, so it's obviously a little bit an unsafe circuit compared to the others, but this is due only to the speed, not because of the run-off areas. I think Monza has been working very hard every time and now we are definitely happier than last year.

Q. Now it's obviously your home Grand Prix; you've twice qualified fifth, raced to fourth in 2002. What are your feelings about your home Grand Prix?

JT: Well, I always loved Monza for the atmosphere as well as for the track. I have always been very competitive, so I hope to have another good weekend, I especially hope to bounce back in the points because at the moment I'm a little bit frustrated by the last few races.

Due to the circumstances I was unable to score points, so I'm really hungry for that, and I shall really go for it this weekend, because I believe we had a very positive test last week, the team is pushing really hard and is improving the car, step by step, so from now to the end of the season we really want to get it right.

Q. This may be an unfair resume, as it were, but the team always seems to test well, you seem to practise well, qualify not badly, and then it seems to slide in the race.

JT: As I say, I think recently we have been a little bit unlucky in general, because the midfield battle is very tight, as Mark says. You really need to get it right all the way through the weekend, because with a little difficulty, you might slip out of the top ten and not score points.

This is what happened in Hungary as well for me last weekend in Turkey when I had this problem at the start, so obviously when the gaps in the midfield are so tight, you really need to get everything completely right every time and you also need a bit of luck. This year, I must say, we have always been there, we have always been fighting but we didn't get advantage in certain circumstances where our rivals got the advantage and scored many points.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) I'd like to ask the three Italian drivers: it is many years since Ferrari had an Italian driver – why do you think the team does not like Italian drivers?

GF: We don't know. First of all, in the last few years, I was under contract with other teams, so… I don't know why. I had a chat sometimes with them, but it never became very close to drive to them.

VL: I am still only two years in Formula One and you don't know what will happen, so… you never know. Maybe, they prefer Finland for selling cars. I have no idea…

JT: Well, to be honest, no-one has ever said that Italian drivers are not well-accepted in Ferrari. It is just the case that in the recent era, with Schumacher, and I have always been contracted with other teams and I had no connection with them. But they have always been good to me. They always give me ice cream! So I am happy…

Jarno Pleased with Changes to Monza Corner

August 29^th 2007: Jarno Trulli was actually pleased to go off-track in testing today, because it gave him the opportunity to experience the new run-off area at the second chicane.

And the Italian, who had been among the active drivers demanding changes at the high-speed track, returned a positive verdict on the experience.

"Today I went off and it seems good - I was able to rejoin the track by just going straight," Trulli told autosport.com. "We have been asking for this for ages, and on a high-speed track like Monza it is always better to have as much run-off as possible. But there are some limitations because of the park (which is protected by law), so this solution was good.

Clearly if you miss the chicane and go straight, you have to be sensible enough to give up the position (you gained), otherwise you may be penalised. But I think it is a good solution."

Handling Issues

August 26^th 2007

Jarno Trulli is hoping his Toyota team can get to the bottom of a handling problem on his car that he believes is costing him performance. Although the Italian qualified once again in the top 10 in Turkey, he has said he is far from happy with his car.

"It was a reasonable qualifying, even if I am a little bit frustrated. Recently I cannot push as hard as I want because the car balance does not really correspond with the one I like.

I am having a lot of troubles with the rear end of the car. It is very unstable and I am not confident at all. Maybe I could have gone quicker, but in the end it is the best I can achieve. The car potentially is good but recently I don't really feel very confident."

Trulli says the problem emerged for the first time in the last race and he cannot pinpoint its cause.

"It was the same in Hungary. Recently, I am struggling to push as much as I want. I think the car is changing a little bit. We are improving, but I think there are some other areas where we need to probably look more carefully to make sure we are going in the right direction. In general, the car is quicker but more difficult for me, and I cannot push as hard as I want."

Trulli believes that Toyota need to get everything right with their car if they are to fight for points in the remaining races of the year.

"We proved that there are some races where we were competitive, and some races where we are a bit less competitive. Here (in Turkey) we are reasonably competitive to be in the top ten, but we did not have the advantage over the other men like in Hungary. Again, we are in the midfield battle and we need to get the best out of the car if we want to score points. The car is still improving. We have a new front wing here, which is definitely a good step forward. But my biggest problem is the rear end under braking."

Q & A

Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office. 27^th July 2007

Q. Jarno, we don't see too many races like that, do we?

Jarno Trulli: No, thankfully! It was certainly a dramatic race. In situations like that, things can work for you or against you and I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Q. A man starting on the back row leading his first GP by 33s after four laps showed what can happen in those conditions?

JT: I think the amount of risk you are prepared to take depends on how much you have to lose. If you qualify on the front half of the grid most people tend to keep a close eye on what the others are doing and on the grid at Nurburgring the rain had not started so everybody started on dry tyres. We knew rain was expected but you can easily destroy the wet tyres if you have to run on a dry track.

For Markus Winkelhock though, it was worth the gamble of putting wet tyres on and when it rained straight away it worked out for him. His bad luck was that it rained so hard that lots of cars went off and the race had to be suspended. And that was bad for me, too.

Q. What was the sequence of events for you?

JT: From eighth on the grid I had a strong first lap and was running well in fifth. You cannot know what the weather is going to do and that was the problem. I was one of just seven cars that didn't pit for wet tyres at the end of the first lap. You never know if it's going to be a shower or heavier rain but this time it rained properly and that second lap on dry tyres was very, very difficult.

It was all I could do to keep the car on the circuit. That cost me quite a bit of time and as soon as I went out again it started raining so hard that the extreme wet tyres were more suitable so I pitted again immediately. That cost me more time but I would have been in good shape because most people were on the wet Bridgestone Potenza tyre rather than the extreme wet tyre at that stage.

Unfortunately though, when so many cars went off at the first corner the race was suspended and I'd lost a lot of time stopping twice, which meant that when we restarted there were only two cars behind me. Finally, when I pitted for tyres after the re-start, we had a delay in the pits. The combination of circumstances meant that I was too far behind to make an impact, which was a shame because we had looked quite strong earlier in the weekend.

Q. How had qualifying been?

JT: It was okay and both myself and Ralf did a good job, putting the cars eighth and ninth on the grid. If we'd been just a 10th quicker we'd have been sixth and seventh. It's very tight at the moment but there is work to do to catch up with the top teams.

Q. Is Toyota's performance level stronger compared to the start of the year?

JT: I think that recently we have performed better because, in general, the circuits we have been at have downforce levels which are optimum for the TF107.

Q. Did the red flags for Lewis Hamilton's accident make Q3 more difficult?

JT: As a driver you never like to see an accident but it became apparent that Lewis was okay and so it became just a question of managing the interruption and trying to make sure you had good track position. You have to re-focus the mind but we're used to jumping in the car and doing a hot lap.

Q. How much confidence do you have, looking ahead?

JT: I still have confidence in the car and the team. Obviously Nurburgring was not a normal race but I am always confident that I can score points. The car seemed pretty good on the long runs in Germany and certainly I was a lot happier compared to my situation at Silverstone.

The next race is Hungary and that demands a very different set-up. The average speed is low and we will need high downforce. That will introduce another set of factors and we will have to see how we perform.

USGP – Thursday Press Conference

Participating: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), Takuma Sato (Super Aguri), Scott Speed (Toro Rosso), Jarno Trulli (Toyota).

Q. Jarno, obviously a shocking race for you in many ways last weekend.

Jarno Trulli: Well, the weekend was a bit dramatic at one stage, but fortunately we could overcome the problem with the front suspension and we shouldn't have any problems in the future. The part has been redesigned and we'll get it soon. But the race was also quite a chaotic and dramatic, because there were so many accidents, because of the safety car, because of the new rules, so many things happened, and obviously it was a difficult race.

I think the people who won the race really deserved it but many others got lucky or not, losing or gaining position on the track, and probably I was the one who lost position and who lost a result. Unfortunately, after the accident with Robert I had to pit because I had a flat tyre and from then on I was just lying at the back of the field and I couldn't do much with the safety car coming out every time. It was very difficult.

Q. How affected were you by that accident? How much were you thinking about that accident during the race?

JT: My race was basically spoiled there because I had to pit for an extra tyre change, so obviously I dropped down the field and there was very little I could do at that stage, but then on top of that, when you're involved in an accident, you are always concerned, especially when you see someone else's car completely destroyed, so it was very difficult. No one had any information about Robert until the end of the race, so I was a little bit concerned. I guess everyone was concerned.

Q. What about this race? You've been on pole position here, four times you've finished fourth, twice from 20th or lower. What are the chances here?

JT: Well, if you look at the statistics, Canada has never brought me luck, whereas here I've always had very good races. I just hope I can bounce back, because it's now three races that I haven't scored points because of bad luck, and I just want to make sure that I have a troublefree weekend and try to do my best, and try to get the best out of the car.

Q. Robert, have you seen the accident on TV?

RK: Well, yes. I also saw it live when I was there! (Laughter) But Scott also had a good position to see it. I saw that on some pictures. But I saw it because as Jarno came to the hospital, it was also important to understand what happened, and why suddenly I had no control of the car. Apparently it was the front wing - when we touched – which went under the car and lifted my car up and I couldn't steer any more, which is why I went off.

Q. (Ed Gorman – The Times) Robert, can you tell us what you remember of it, yourself as you went through the accident, what was going through your mind and exactly what you can remember of that?

RK: Well, I can't remember a lot, of course. What I remember is what you see. We were racing with Jarno, the corner was going to the left. I showed up before the corner on the left-hand side of Jarno. Then as the corner was a left-hander, I thought Jarno would go there and I went on the right-hand side, but apparently Jarno thought I would be on the left one and he went a bit wider.

Post Canada-Q&A

Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.

Q. Drama in Montreal from first to last. What can you say?

JT: Before anything, I just want to say how delighted I am that Robert Kubica is not badly injured after the accident on lap 27, when we were racing closely. I was shocked about the violence of the accident and very concerned because I had no information.

Q. What happened?

JT: I was struggling with tyre graining and lack of grip. Robert was quicker and I gave him the left-hand side of the track. The last time I saw him in my mirrors he was on that side, then I just got hit at the back and I have no idea what happened. I saw the medical car out for a long period and I was very concerned.

Q. What about your own race?

JT: I was battling for points in the early stages and then after Robert's accident I had a flat tyre and had to make a pit stop. I don't know if it was because of contact or because of debris. After that it was a confusing race and I was at the back.

I had to make another stop later on and when I came back out I just lost concentration and drove straight into the wall at Turn 1 with 12 laps to go. Honestly, I was really glad that it was all over. It doesn't really matter how it went for me, all that matters is that nobody was seriously injured.

Q. How big a concern were the two suspension failures you had on Friday?

JT: The team analysed the data and it looked like a mixture of circumstances which made the upright fail over a particular kerb at Turn 8. There was no clear explanation because the component was exactly the same as last year and the kerb is exactly the same too. There is something different in the suspension geometry and that's why we completely changed the characteristics of the set-up to try to help the situation.

Q. Did it affect your confidence?

JT: When you want to be quick you don't pay too much attention to what might happen and so I was more concentrated on getting the best out of myself and the car in qualifying rather than thinking about Friday. Obviously, when I went out on Saturday morning I was a bit cautious and I was concentrating hard in Turn 8, but more on not hitting the kerb rather than being quick. We are drivers and once we close the visor we focus on our job.

Q. Was a top 10 qualifying position better than you expected?

JT: I would say it was unexpected. We lost most of Friday practice yesterday and Saturday morning was pretty poor because the track conditions were bad. We went into qualifying with a lot to discover, we had to change the car set-up to overcome the mechanical problem and we also had to avoid the kerb. So 10th was a great result. I was more than satisfied!

Q. Have you ever suffered a double component break before?

JT: No, it's the first time for me and also for the team, which has never had these kind of problems. The first time I hit the kerb I called on the radio and told the team to bring Ralf in as well until we investigated the issue.

Q. Were there any positive points about your trip to Canada?

JT: As I said, I think it is a tremendous positive that on Sunday night Robert Kubica had been examined at hospital in Montreal and was okay and able to talk and tell jokes to the people from his team who visited him.

It says a lot about the strength of today's cars and the positive progress that has been made with safety, but it also proves that what we do has dangers and that we can never be complacent. It is never nice to see something like that and the most important thing about the whole weekend is that he was okay.

Everything else was pretty much insignificant but, away from the track, it was fun to entertain the British press at one of Montreal's nicest restaurants on Thursday evening and give them an opportunity to sample the famous Trulli wine! It was all from my own vineyards and they seemed to approve.

Unfortunately I couldn't join in and had to stick to water! But the over-riding feeling from the weekend is not about light-hearted matters, it is one of relief.

Thursday's Press Conference - Bahrain

Thursday, April 12th 2007

Participating: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Jarno Trulli (Toyota).

Q. Jarno, is it fair to say that performances so far have been better than expected?

Jarno Trulli: Yeah, winter testing was a little bit difficult, as was last season, but nevertheless we are always positive and that's a help. In Australia and Malaysia we did quite a good job. We managed to get the best of the car and qualified two cars in the top 10 for both races, which was good, and we also scored points. We can be happy about the general job we've done, but obviously we need to look forward over the whole season and we need to develop the car if we want to get better results.

Q. Is the team capable of a big step forward?

JT: Yes, I think it is capable. It has the potential and the resources are there. We need to see what we can do because the gap to the top teams is quite big and we need to close it. At the moment Ferrari and McLaren are at the top, then BMW is looking very strong, but Williams, Red Bull and ourselves are right behind and fighting hard. We are going to need to make a step if we want podium finishes.

Q. What about Bahrain? Is it likely to be a good circuit for you?

JT: Statistically? No, it hasn't been such a good track. We didn't have such good pace in testing but we have to stay positive and see what we can do. We have to get the best out of the circumstances, qualify in the top ten and try to score some points. We are waiting for a big step in Barcelona, so we have to try very hard.

Q (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport). Jarno, following Marco's question about Fernando (has his leaving made a difference to Renault), you know him quite well, so do you think that he's a key man for McLaren and what is his best quality in the development of the car?

JT: Obviously Fernando has proved that he's a key man in winning races and championships. I agree that the Fernando switch is the not the reason why McLaren is doing well and Renault is doing badly. It's just a case of tyre switching and the McLaren has done better than Renault, for whatever reason.

For sure, Fernando now has got experience in developing the car and especially as he has been driving a winning car for the last few years, he knows what it takes to win races, so obviously he can give a direction to the team and he can contribute on many things, on his teammate, on the team in general, on the performance, on motivating people, because even last Sunday's victory motivates the whole team and everybody to push harder on the car's development.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) May I ask all of you what you think about racing without traction control next year?

JT: I think it's going to be interesting and definitely better. From my point of view, the more you give the car back to the driver, the better it is, or the better it is for me. I feel like I'm more in charge of doing things. At the moment, the cars are too easy. I'm really in favour of it.

No Quick Fix

Jarno Trulli believes there will be no quick fix to help Toyota challenge the top teams this year, ahead of what he expects to be a difficult weekend in Bahrain.

The team endured a disastrous outing at the Sakhir track last year, with their car completely unable to use its tyres, and Trulli fears another repeat this time out.

"Very often we have some good races and some bad races," said Trulli, who finished seventh in Malaysia last weekend. “This is often typical from this team because it looks like our car is very sensitive to different conditions and tracks. In Melbourne, it was okay and Malaysia was okay because it's a place where we've always gone well. But Bahrain hasn't always gone well for us. We were very bad in 2006. This is very difficult to explain - since we switched to Bridgestone we lost performance and something changed on our car."

Trulli believes that aerodynamics remain the team's biggest weakness and, although a major update is scheduled for the Spanish Grand Prix, he thinks that will only be the start of the improvement the team need to make.

"When you change the tyres, consequently the aerodynamic of the car changes," he said. "Look at Renault, they have lost out a lot while McLaren have gained a little bit. The only one who didn't change was Ferrari. Aerodynamically, that is the first thing, and everything else is related. We need to improve our aerodynamics. It's happening slowly - I wish we could do it in a quicker way. But it takes time to investigate, develop and design the parts. We are expecting a big aero update for Barcelona. I hope that from that time on we can improve our performance. For sure, our improvements will not let us win races - we are still very

far from the top."

Trulli Praises Barcelona Changes

Jarno Trulli has praised the improved safety at the Barcelona circuit following changes made to the layout, after drivers raised concerns about track safety at testing venues last year.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association called for improvements to be made to Spanish testing tracks, and Barcelona reacted by modifying the layout, installing a new chicane that slows cars down ahead of the final corner.

Toyota driver Trulli says the Spanish circuit in now much safer thanks to the changes.

"We are now missing two high speed corners so it compromised the set-up but it was good in the safety direction, it is much safer," Trulli told autosport.com during testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. "The exit of the last corner is much better. I do not see more overtaking though."

Trulli added: "About the medical facilities, a lot has been done and I had a briefing with Dr. Ceccarelli who has done a lot and it is a lot better. All these circuits we talked to, they all listened to us.They were all poor on the safety standard and I must praise those people who acted. Personally I am very happy about that. It did not cost much to do this and 95% of the work has been done, another 5% are minor things."

We sent Jarno a box of presents and cards before Christmas and he wrote to thank us: “we have very much appreciated it and me, Barbara, Enzo and little Marco wish you and all Jarno Trulli Fan club a merry Xmas and a happy new year 2007.”

Jarno in the Movies!

Fans might like to know that Jarno did the voice-over for the blue car called DJ in the Italian version of the new Pixar cartoon movie ‘Cars’. He was actually offered a bigger part but had to turn it down because of the time-consuming nature of the project.

CNN Revealed

If anyone missed the excellent CNN Revealed programme about Jarno over the British GP weekend, we now have our copies available on video (PAL) and DVD (Europe 1). Send £2 to cover costs to the fan club address, cheques payable to Jarno Trulli UK Fan Club. State if video or DVD required.

La Gazzetta Interview 7th November 2006

Trulli, who did not score a point until the ninth round of the championship in Canada, reckons Toyota will have to raise their game next year.

"Ferrari last year had a disastrous season as well, compared to the previous one. We've suffered the move from Michelin tyres to Bridgestone," Trulli told Gazzetta dello Sport. "On top of that we've had reliability problems, but the engine at the end of the season was more competitive and reliable. If I didn't have a problem, in the last race in Brazil I would have finished second. I believe in Toyota's potential, but we'll have to step up the pace. I hope the birth of my son Marco turns out to be the sign of a change of luck for me. I itch to get back on the podium."

The Italian driver believes Ferrari, runners-up to Renault this year, are favourites for next year's titles, despite Michael Schumacher's retirement.

Trulli commented when asked who will be favourite next year: "Ferrari, judging by the impressive way they finished.Whoever drives for them will have a great advantage. I don't think the departure of Schumacher and (Ross) Brawn will change things much. Ferrari got the best of Schumacher, but I don't know why he retired nor why Raikkonen was chosen. There are many questions but little answers. But with today's Ferrari Massa wins too."

But despite having scored just three podiums since then, the Toyota driver reckons he made the right decision to leave Renault.

"I've never regretted parting ways. Renault wasn't the place for me. My victory in Monte Carlo in 2004, instead of strengthening the relationship, marked the fracture. Never mind what the reasons were..."

EXTRACTS FROM SUZUKA THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

Participating: Fernando Alonso (Renault), Jenson Button (Honda), Takuma Sato (Super Aguri), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Sakon Yamamoto (Super Aguri).

Q. Jarno, a best of fifth here, what do you feel about this circuit, this race?

Jarno Trulli: Well, obviously Suzuka is a very nice challenging circuit. I like it very much. It's our home race for Toyota so we expect to be challenging strongly, and I hope to do a good weekend.

Q. But the last few races haven't been fantastic for you, however.

JT: Monza, wasn't too bad but obviously I made a mistake over the tyre choice in Turkey and the last Grand Prix was a bit unfortunate for both drivers because the weekend started wrongly from qualifying when we had a red flag at the wrong moment, otherwise we would both have been in quite easily. From that time on, it was very difficult to recover from the back, because we were stuck behind Coulthard all the time, all the race and then when we gambled on dry tyres, that was obviously a big risk. We took it but it didn't work.

Q. So you feel that you should have been in the points.

JT: We cannot really judge the last race. In Monza I finished seventh. We were very competitive in Turkey. Ralf's tyre choice was good and he was very competitive, so in the end I believe that the team has got good potential but sometimes we don't use the full potential during the weekend because we still have to manage to get the right choice.

Q. Any thoughts on the last Suzuka…..?

JT: It has been a pleasure to come to Suzuka for so many years I have really enjoyed it and I hope to enjoy again a good race this season and then we move on to Fuji and we will see next year. I hope we can have a lot of fun there and the public will be as many as we have here.

Q. (James Allen – ITV) Jarno both cars have got new engines here – is there anything special in this engine?

JT: Yes I have changed the engine for this race and it is a little step forward. Just a few things that we hope will improve reliability.

EXTRACTS FROM MONZA THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

Participating: Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Jarno Trulli (Toyota).

Q. Jarno, the reliability has improved over the last few races but it seems you just need to climb up the order a little bit.

Jarno Trulli: Yeah, definitely. I believe that Toyota is really bouncing back, especially from the beginning of the season up to now, we've made a huge improvement. Obviously the reliability sometimes didn't play on our side, also luck, but in the end, I must praise everybody in the team because they have reacted pretty well from the beginning and they are still pushing and carrying on the development of the car and we are looking stronger. Obviously the time you lose at the beginning is not easy to recover, but nevertheless, I believe the car is getting stronger and stronger and we are always very competitive during the Grand Prix weekend, being always in the top six. The last race wasn't a great race for me, a bit of bad luck but also I have to admit that my tyre choice wasn't great.

Q. You've been fourth here and fifth from fifth on the grid last year. Is this circuit a good one for you?

JT: So far it's always been a circuit where I was very very competitive so I expect another strong weekend but you never know. Every race has different history so we have to go out and race and see what happens during the weekend. Last week we had quite a good promising test in preparation for this Grand Prix. Obviously the race weekend is different, so I just hope that all our choices are right for this weekend.

Q. (Dan Knutson - National Speed Sport News) This is a question for all five of you: on Sunday, Michael Schumacher will announce if he will retire or not, and of course that is his decision, but, would you like to see him continue so that you can race against him next year, and regardless of if he retires or not, what do you think of what he has accomplished in his career?

JT: It's been a pleasure for me to race with him, and obviously he has achieved a lot. It's not up to me to say how much, but the numbers speak for themselves. Obviously we don't know what's going to happen but if he leaves Formula One, we will miss him a little bit as a driver, we will miss him in the football matches, because that has been very nice this year but on the other hand, I think it's his own life and he has to get on with it. It's difficult now. We don't know what's going to happen. He's given a lot to Formula One, he's given a lot to Ferrari and it's normal that a lot of people will miss him.

Q. (Ottavo Daviddi - Tuttosport) We talk of Michael's retirement, but we are not sure of it this season… Do you prefer if he continues to race or not?

GF: I said yes. We want to see him with us again next year.

FM: Yes

HK: Yes, I'd like to have another go…

VL: Yes, of course, it is good if he stays, but he cannot race until he is 60 or 70 -- so there will have to be a time when he has to…

FM: Who knows? Who knows?

JT: For me, it doesn't change much. It's just a question of a champion and does he want to stay or to go. I have been fighting with him. I have been ahead and I have been behind. He has won and he has lost. And he will continue doing this. It's not a question of we like or we don't like. It's a question of he wants to continue or he doesn't want to continue so it is up to him rather than up to us.

Q. (Heinz Prueller - ORF) Gentlemen, we are talking so much about Michael. Can I ask all of you to recall one memory of him that stands out in your mind – a race, or a conversation or a party? Or whatever?

JT: Well, we have had so many and just one… Well, the first time I met him was at a go-kart track. He was just a Formula One driver who wanted to show that he was able also to drive go-karts and it was great for me, a young kid, to have someone like him, a champion, not racing, but competing and testing. That was in Italy many years ago and actually after that he said some very good words about myself and I must say that and I have to thank him for what he has done for me.

Toyota Can Be Front Runners in 2007

Italian driver Jarno Trulli expects his Toyota team to be fighting at the top of the Formula One field next year.

The Japanese squad started the season aiming to score their maiden Grand Prix victory, but their hopes soon took a hit when they struggled for pace early on.

Toyota have moved forward since then, but their best result this year has been a third place finish by Ralf Schumacher in Australia. It has been their only podium so far.

But Trulli, who renewed his contract until the 2009 season, believes Toyota have the potential to start winning races next year.

"I'm delighted to have signed for three more years with my current team," Trulli told Gazzetta dello Sport. "This year we haven't had the means to win Grands Prix but it's just a matter of experience: Toyota's potential is enormous. From 2007 we can be main players at all times and the final objective in my career is to win the championship. I know I can do it."

The Italian driver will race at his home Grand Prix next week, and he admitted he is looking to score his first podium of the season there.

"In qualifying I aim to be in the top ten, even though it'll be hard. In the race I'd like to get a podium, either there or at least by the end of the season," he added. Courtesy of Autosport.com