JARNO TRULLI

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Jarno Trulli

Wednesday 14th February 2007

Jarno's background, like many of his F1 peers, is in karting, where he was regarded as one of the finest talents to grace the sport.

Many believe (or believed?) that, given the right car and the right environment, Trulli could become Italy's first Champion since Ascari.

As a promising young Italian driver, Trulli started his F1 career with Minardi in 1997 before switching to the more competitive Prost team midway through the season following Olivier Panis' dreadful accident at Montreal.

On the Frenchman's return, Trulli handed back the drive, although a fourth place at Hockenheim and a scorching Austrian GP - where only a blown engine denied him an astonishing win - was enough to give him a permanent seat alongside Panis the following year.

A woefully inadequate car in 1998 meant a frustrating season, the only vague bright spot being a sixth place at Spa.

1999 was much of the same, with Trulli becoming increasingly unhappy with the poor performance of the car.

For 2000, Trulli joined Jordan, lining up alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Another frustrating season brought none of the rewards he had been hoping for.

However, Jarno put his faith in the Honda engine making them more competitive in 2001. But once again Trulli flattered to deceive, the Italian often putting in good qualifying performances, but failing to deliver when it came to the race.

Such a scenario has tended to blight his F1 career.

His best results in 2001 were fourth-place finishes in Indianapolis and Barcelona. He ended the year ninth overall with 12 points.

In 2002 he swapped teams with Giancarlo Fisichella and seemed to get much the better deal. He outgunned Jenson Button in qualifying, though by mid-season Jarno was getting the more powerful evolution of Renault engines if one were to blow up in practice.

Yet his reputation as 'a bit of a choker' was not enhanced through the year and Button easily outraced and ultimately outscored him. Nonetheless, it has to be said that Trulli was badly handicapped by Renault's unreliability - had his car held up slightly longer, the two drivers would probably have ended all square.

The following season was a frustrating one for Jarno. Bedeviled by misfortune and a lack of reliability, his reputation took a battering as another Flavio Briatore protégé, Fernando Alonso, took the plaudits for a series of stunning drives.

The Italian, though, more than matched F1's latest bright young thing in the first half of the 2004 season.

His run of form culminated in a faultless drive at Monaco in which Trulli held off a hard-charging Button to earn his maiden F1 win. Yet even in the immediate aftermath of victory Flavio Briatore indicated that he wouldn't be renewing Trulli's contract at Renault.

From this point onwards Trulli's performances declined at the same rate as his relationship with the team.

After a series of lacklustre performances, and amid accusations by Jarno that Renault were providing him with an inferior product, the team dropped him with three races remaining.

It had been confirmed in the previous month that he had signed a long-term contract with Toyota and Jarno thus made an immediate switch to his new employers, making his debut at the Japanese GP.

Supplied with the disappointing TF104, his performances were steady if unspectacular.

He entered the 2005 season determined to fulfil Toyota's promise of podium finishes and with the help of yet another new qualifying system, it didn't take the Italian long.

By the end of the fifth race Trulli already had three podium finishes (including two P2s bagged in Malaysia and Bahrain) to his name.

However his performances petered out as the season progressed and, at the Chinese GP, he was eventually overhauled by team-mate Ralf Schumacher in the Drivers' standings.

Remaining with Toyota for a second season, Jarno struggled to score points in the first half of the season as reliability issues dogged him. In fact his first points of the season only came at the Canadian GP, round nine of the Championship.

It was a disappointing campaign for the Italian, who finished the year on 15 points and down in 12th place.

Jarno scored his first points of the 2007 season in Malaysia, finishing seventh after qualifying eighth. A couple more points followed in Bahrain, but he stalled on the grid at the start of the Spanish GP and dropped out during the early laps due to mechanical failure.

Monaco brought no better fortune for Trulli, as he finished down in 15th place, just ahead of team-mate Schumacher, after qualifying his season-worst 14th. His second retirement of the season followed in Canada, before he was back in the points at the United States GP, finishing sixth. After a series of non-scoring runs, Trulli said that the result was 'incredible'.

2008 was meant to yield better things for Toyota and although there were signs of promise it did appear to be more of the same from Trulli. Some highs, some lows, but mostly just mediocre results.

A podium finish came at the French GP, but there was little sight of that first win that Toyota have been dreaming of. And whether the new 2009 regulations will help or hinder Trulli and team in their quest remains to be seen.

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