Trulli, satisfaction and bitterness

Jarno Trulli, deuxième sur la grille, n?est pas parvenu à offrir à Toyota his first victory in Formula 1. The Italian pilot would have liked to give this ?gift? at Toyota in front of the Japanese public, who came in large numbers to Suzuka. But, for that, we first had to concentrate on the start. “ I knew that the drivers around me were very strong at the start. I knew in particular that Lewis (Hamilton), with his SREC (kinetic energy recovery system), was very dangerous and that he would perhaps take the advantage from the first corner. »

Unable to resist the power of McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, Jarno Trulli had to settle for third place from the first corner. But that did not destabilize the Italian, who then led his race well. “ From there it was a fabulous ride. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I attacked lap after lap. I tried to maintain the gap with Lewis. I would go away and then come back? It was very difficult but I really enjoyed driving today. We had to attack and not give up so as not to let him slip away. »

In the end, the advantage gained on the track by Lewis Hamilton was not enough. Faster at the end and taking advantage of a very short pit stop, Jarno Trulli returned to his starting position. “ Thanks to the team's strategy, we were able to gain the advantage over Lewis. Then there was the entry of the safety car and I thought it was going to be very difficult at the restart. With his SREC, he could have regained the advantage. Fortunately, that was not the case. »

After recounting his race, Jarno Trulli sent the traditional thanks to all the people who helped him achieve this result. This time, the thanks almost looked like farewells, Jarno Trulli seeming sorry not to be able to offer the Japanese manufacturer a victory before leaving the team at the end of the season. “ I would like to take this moment to thank the entire team: my technicians, my mechanics as well as our partners. I would have liked to win today but it wasn?t possible because Sebastian Vettel was faster. »