Formula One news
Trulli and Toyota 'back on track'
10 June 2009The Toyota team enjoyed a more rapid and constructive Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday by achieving a double points finish, just a fortnight after qualifying on the back row of the grid in Monte-Carlo. With a top four result in Istanbul, optimism has been recovered for Jarno Trulli.
|
|
 |
| Trulli chats with German team-mate Timo Glock in the Istanbul paddock |
With a disastrous weekend taking place in the principality, Toyota's journey to Turkey proved a positive one which saw the Cologne-based team score the third highest amount of points in the race, after Red Bull and Brawn. "We are back on track and it was good to be fighting at the front of the grid again," said 34-year-old Trulli, of Pescara. "To return to the top five immediately after what happened in Monaco is great and it is a credit to the team, who have worked really hard to improve our performance. We were not far away from the fastest car; there is still a small gap, which we will work to close, but we are moving in the right direction."
 |
| The hill may be steep, but Toyota is climbing |
In what has been a 'rollercoaster ride' of a season so far, how does a team manage to move from Row 11 on the grid to the height of Row 3 in the space of just one race? "We had a few upgrades, with changes to the front and rear wings, which brought additional performance," Trulli explained. "Overall we improved in many areas, including the start which was fantastic for me on Sunday. Timo and I have worked together with the team to understand where we can improve and the result we had in Turkey was a nice reward for our effort.
"Normally you have a good idea straight away in first practice if you are competitive and in Turkey I was pretty happy from the beginning - we were clearly competitive and I knew immediately that we would be in the top 10."
 |
| Well-drilled practice resulted in rapid pit-stops at Istanbul Park |
With Rubens Barrichello's gearbox resulting in nothing more than a lethargic start, Jarno moved up to third position off the starting blocks but was overhauled on the first lap by the Red Bull of Mark Webber and - later on in the race - by Nico Rosberg's Williams, before re-taking the German's fourth spot during the final round of pit-stops. Jarno explained: "It was an exciting race for me because I was fighting on every lap. I had a great start and managed to overtake two cars into the first corner, so I was in third, but I was having trouble with the brakes locking and it was impossible to keep Webber behind. After that I got into a good rhythm and I was battling hard with Rosberg; I was trying to make every lap be like a qualifying lap and I stayed close, so when we both made our final pit stops I got out ahead. A lot of the credit has to go to the pit stop crew who did an amazing job to help me finish fourth."
more news
- 07 Nov.
- 06 Nov.
- 05 Nov.
- 04 Nov.
- FIA warns again: Credit crunch will win
- Renault holds emergency meeting about F1 future
- FOTA thanks Toyota's Howett
- Ekström beats Schumacher for Race of Champions
- Hülkenberg targeting Barrichello pace
- Photos: Race of Champions 2009
- Pirelli not interested in F1
- Vettel and Schumacher win ROC Nations Cup
- Toyota highlights reasons for F1 exit
- Official: Toyota leaves Formula One
- An interview with Kamui Koabayshi
- 03 Nov.
- 02 Nov.