Jarno Trulli Helps to Build New Lotus Team
When Jarno Trulli entered Formula 1 with the Minardi team in 1997 replacing the injured Oliver Panis, it appeared on the surface to be a perfect match: an Italian driver joining a scrappy Italian team. However, many media members were confused about the signing: they assumed that Trulli was Nordic because of his name and his lack of experience driving in Italy.
If Trulli was an unknown factor in 1997, he’s become a well-known figure in the world of Formula 1 racing since then. He’s been a fixture on the circuit since joining Minardi, having been both a principal driver and test driver for teams such as Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. Despite his experience and ability to qualify — he’s scored four pole positions in his career — he has never received the break with a leading team which could propel him to the top of the sport.
Trulli currently races for the start-up Lotus Racing team. Although the Lotus name is one of the most legendary in all of Formula 1 racing, the Lotus Racing team has little connection to it other than corporate backing from the company which owns the Lotus name. The team itself is primarily a Malaysian entity with Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes as the team principal and is one of the three new teams in Formula 1 this season.
This has put Trulli in a familiar position: having to make the best of a mediocre situation. He’s been in this situation before with other teams. One of the pieces of good news is that he is partnering in 2010 with another veteran driver in Heikki Kovalainen, giving him a dependable driver to work with. Another advantage has been that the team director is Mike Gascoyne, who was a star at McLaren and Toyota and is one of the most knowledgeable technical minds in the sport.
Taken on the whole, Trulli’s 2010 season has gone relatively close to expectations. He’s actually finished races slightly better than he’s qualified this season, although he’s typically been a few places behind Kovalainen by the end of the race. However, Trulli’s been undone by faulty equipment this season, only finishing four of the first 10 races including dropping out four times with hydraulic problems.
However, Trulli’s job has been to try and keep the car competitive while the team goes through the usual issues that every first-year team faces. While neither Trulli nor Kovalainen have scored points through the first 10 races of the season, they have managed to place ahead of other new teams HRT Racing and Virgin through the first half of the season. The team’s 10th place position in the standings carries with it more than just symbolic importance: the top 10 teams at the end of the season in the Constructors’ Championship qualify for significant bonuses which could be a major boost to any of the three new teams.
There’s little question about what Trulli’s finest hour as a Formula 1 driver has been: that came in the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix when he delivered a shocking victory for Renault. It was hardly a fluke as he had qualified on the pole and was able to hold off challenges from his teammate Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to claim his first — and to date only — Formula 1 victory. However, it’s typical of his star-crossed career that disputes with the Renault team led him to leave before the end of the season.
Trulli scored three podiums and one pole last season while finishing eighth in the Drivers’ Championship for the now defunct Toyota team. It’s doubtful that he’ll be able to lift to Lotus team to such heights any time soon. However, with limited expectations and a chance to build a new team, it might be a perfect opportunity for the humble and unassuming Trulli to eventually find a permanent home.
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