Formula 1
Trulli reviews Europe weekend
Renault's Jarno Trulli looks back over the European Grand Prix weekend "It's funny how things change in a week! Fourth was a good result at the European GP really, because everything nearly finished at the first corner. But I have still scored ...
Published: Jun 1, 2004, 5:16 AM
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Renault's Jarno Trulli looks back over the European Grand Prix weekend
"It's funny how things change in a week! Fourth was a good result at the European GP really, because everything nearly finished at the first corner. But I have still scored points in every race, and I am fourth in the championship, just two points behind Jenson. And even better, the team actually strengthened our second position in the Constructors Championship, so we have to be happy -- even though this wasn't our best race of the year."
Jarno Trulli.
Photo by LAT Photographic.
"As soon as practice started on Friday, we knew it was going to be harder than at Monaco. The conditions were quite cool, very low grip, and we were finding things quite difficult with the car. After two hours of practice, I ended up fifth, but we were reassured when we learned that all the other teams were finding the conditions very low grip as well: that meant we weren't the only ones, but even so, there were some fairly big changes made for Saturday morning to try and improve the grip of the car."
"In the third session, things were definitely better and we worked solidly, making progress in every area. On Saturday morning, you always try and do a lap at the end with new tyres to see how good the car is, but an electrical problem meant I couldn't: there was a wire in the loom that was shorting out and causing the engine to misfire."
"Fixing the problem was not easy, and for a while it looked like I wouldn't even go out in pre-qualifying... but my mechanics did a fantastic job, really awesome, and the car was ready just in time. I said afterwards I think they are the best in the paddock, and I really believe that.
"After my win in Monaco, that meant I was the first one out in pre-qualifying -- and the conditions were really bad. The circuit was dirty, and I couldn't push hard, so I was quite a long way down the starting order for the second session. Even so, I really did a good lap -- not too many mistakes, and we had quite an aggressive strategy for the first stint, so I finished third. That was definitely a surprise for me -- but a good one! Fernando was sixth, but only a little bit slower, so things looked really good for the race."
"The start on Sunday was good -- I was past Sato and fighting with Michael when we braked for the first corner. Then suddenly, I had to get out of the way -- I had no option. I saw Sato coming, and it was a choice between crashing there and then or trying something later. So I was third, and then he made a mistake in the third corner, so I took the inside line, but he just came across as if I was not there: his right front wheel hit my front left, and it nearly knocked the steering wheel out of my hands."
"After that, I hit the pit-lane limiter by mistake, and lost about four positions. In the end, it cost me more because after that five cars were held up behind Raikkonen, and it meant that when I made my first stop, I got caught in traffic behind slower cars on two stops."
"I couldn't pass them, so all I could do was sit behind, keep close and wait for their stops. I gained a position when Fernando ran wide in Turn 4, and then steadily climbed up the order. The car was good after we added some front wing at the first stop, and I had no problems, so I just kept on pushing for the next three stints and trying to run at a consistent pace."
"There were some retirements, plus our car was quick, which meant that I climbed up to fourth. Maybe it could have been different without the problems on the first lap, but it is a fair result: when you are seventh at the end of lap one, fourth is not too bad overall. Most importantly, the team is now in a stronger position than when we arrived here, and that is what counts when you get to the end of the year."
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