18 – Jarno Trulli

Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Stats

• Birthday: 13th July 1974
• Nationality: Italian
• Lives: Italy
• Website: jarnotrulli.com

Career

Jarno’s career by year. The bracketed number is his final position at the end of the series.

• 1991 – Formula K (1st)
• 1993 – Italian Formula Three  (NC)
• 1994 – British Formula Three (NC)
• 1995 – German Formula Three (4th), Macau Grand Prix (2nd)
• 1996 – German Formula Three (1st), Macau Grand Prix (3rd), Grand Prix de Monaco F3 (18th), Masters of Formula Three (18th)
• 1997 – Formula 1 (15th)
• 1998 – Formula 1 (15th)
• 1999 – Formula 1 (11th)
• 2000 – Formula 1 (10th)
• 2001 – Formula 1 (9th)
• 2002 – Formula 1 (8th)
• 2003 – Formula 1 (8th)
• 2004 – Formula 1 (6th)
• 2005 – Formula 1 (7th)
• 2006 – Formula 1 (12th)
• 2007 – Formula 1 (13th)
• 2008 – Formula 1 (9th)
• 2009 – Formula 1 (8th)
• 2010 – Formula 1

2010 Preview

From the F1 Digest 2010 Season Preview:

Trulli has been in F1 since 1997, and that makes him one of the veterans on the grid. For the past five and a bit years, he’s driven for Toyota – one of the less flamboyent teams on the grid. Trulli showed his excellence in qualifying well, but never really made the difference when it came to points, podiums, and winning races. His one and only victory came previous to the Toyota era, when he took a Monaco win for Renault. Teamed with Alonso, Trulli was overshadowed in the car, and it wasn’t really a surprise when he moved on. The problem with Toyota is that their blandness made Jarno a bit of an anonymous character as well. We know he likes wine, and we know there is such a thing as a Trulli train, we also know that usually when he’s on the podium, he has a black arm band on and can tribute the success to someone. The rest is a bit of a mystery.

Toyota quit the sport last year, and so for 2010, Trulli has signed up with brand new team Lotus Racing. He has previously worked with Mike Gascoyne, so this might make a good fit for them both. As a new team with a brand new car, Trulli can work on development and continue to push, without making waves in the paddock. Unless he comes into contact with Sutil, of course, then we’ll be set for a rematch.