Career

Early career and junior formulae

His parents were motorsport fans and named their son after Jarno Saarinen, the Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racing champion who was killed at Monza in 1973. He started racing in karts at an early age; after winning the Karting World Championship in 1991, the Italian and several karting championships in different categories up to 1995, Trulli won the German Formula Three Championship in 1996.

Formula One

Minardi and Prost (1997-1999)

In 1997, Trulli made his debut in Formula One with Minardi. After 7 races he replaced the injured Olivier Panis at Prost and impressed immediately, finishing fourth in Germany and even leading in Austria, looking set to finish second until his engine blew. He stayed at the Prost team for the next two seasons and eventually scored his first podium in wet conditions at the 1999 European Grand Prix. However, this was a rare highlight in a race few of the main front-runners finished, and the poor performance of the Prost team convinced him that a switch to Jordan would bring improved results.

Jordan (2000-2001)

In 2000 he moved to the Irish squad, but the team was no longer the force it had been in the late 1990s. In his two years with Jordan, Trulli failed to score a podium, but did impress with a series of brilliant qualifying displays. During this period suggestions were made that Trulli was more of a qualifying specialist than an out-and-out fast race driver, a charge he frequently denied. Under long-term contract to personal manager (and Renault manager) Flavio Briatore, Trulli secured a contract with the Anglo-French squad for 2002.

Renault (2002-2004)

Alongside Jenson Button, he often outqualified his British teammate, but was generally shaded in races. Regardless of Button's improved pace that season, it was Trulli who stayed at Renault for 2003 to partner promoted test-driver Fernando Alonso. The 2003 Renault was a strong car and in Alonso's hands won in Hungary. Trulli struggled to attain similar results, but did achieve a podium in Germany, his first since leaving Prost.

Mindful of how much Alonso had outperformed him in 2003, Trulli improved markedly the next year. For the first half of the season he was the better of the two Renault drivers, racking up regular points and podiums. At Monaco he finally took his first victory after a brilliant display from pole position. Having performed so well, the Italian was eager to stick with the team for 2005, but his relationship with team-boss Briatore soured. A last corner error which allowed Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello onto the podium in France enraged the team, and from that point his days with the French manufacturer were numbered. He did not score any points after the French Grand Prix and was consistently off the pace during races. He later accused the team of favouring Alonso, but the reasons why his 2004 season deteriorated have never been properly identified. He was sacked three races before the end of the season and replaced by 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, despite leading his teammate in the championship at that point. Trulli had already agreed to drive for Toyota in 2005, and his early exit from Renault allowed him to take up his new seat for the last two races of the 2004 season, replacing Ricardo Zonta.

Toyota (2004-2009)

2004-2005

In 2005, early season podiums demonstrated Trulli's speed and at Indianapolis he took Toyota's first Formula One pole (albeit with very low fuel). For the vast majority of the year he outpaced highly paid team-mate Ralf Schumacher, but a late season dip in form saw him slip to seventh in the championship, two points behind the German.

2006

In 2006, Trulli suffered a very poor start to the season. On the first lap of the Australian Grand Prix, he was taken out by David Coulthard. He seemed to be outpaced by team-mate Ralf Schumacher more often than not, but his reputation was restored when he raced to 6th from 4th on the grid at the Canadian Grand Prix. Following this was a 4th place in the United States Grand Prix. From then on, he would only score 3 more times, with a couple of 7th-place finishes in the German Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix and also a 6th place in the Japanese Grand Prix. There was even bad luck here, as his car became troublesome to drive mid-race, and Ralf Schumacher was delayed in the process. Trulli was racing very well in the season finale at Interlagos, but bad luck robbed him again, as his car suffered suspension failure in only the first 10 laps, a fate which befell his team-mate at the same time. He finished 12th overall.

2007

Trulli scored his first points of 2007 in Malaysia, finishing in 7th place after qualifying 8th. A couple more points followed in Bahrain, but he stalled on the grid at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix and dropped out during the early laps due to mechanical failure. Monaco brought no better fortune for Trulli, as he finished down in 15th place, just ahead of team-mate Schumacher, after qualifying his season-worst 14th. Points were collected by Trulli at the Indianapolis for 6th place. After a series of non-scoring runs, Trulli said that the result was 'incredible'. He also qualified well for the French Grand Prix but crashed with the Renault of Heikki Kovalainen on the opening lap, and duly retired because of the damage. Trulli accepted the blame for the incident. The second half of the season was disappointing with Trulli's only point coming in the final race of the season at Brazil.

Post season there had been reports that Trulli's contract was not safe, and that he may have be replaced in the Toyota team for 2008 by Heikki Kovalainen. These proved unfounded as Kovalainen signed for McLaren.

2008

In 2008, Trulli was hoping Toyota would make a big step forward. Timo Glock was confirmed as his team-mate for the season. Trulli started the season quite well, with several points scoring finishes, the height of which was a fourth-place finish in Malaysia. Trulli's qualifying performances were also very good throughout the first few rounds of the Championship. His form then slumped a little, with disappointing performances in Turkey and Monaco, as he finished in non-points scoring positions.

However, he bounced back from this with a 6th-place finish in Montreal. He then topped that in France by finishing on the podium in 3rd place, holding off the challenge of Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica in the closing laps.

He qualified on the front row alongside pole-sitter Felipe Massa for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, which was to decide the 2008 world championship between Massa and Lewis Hamilton. During the race, Trulli had several close shaves in the changeable weather conditions, and eventually finished 8th. His team-mate Glock played a pivotal part in the title outcome as he was passed by Hamilton on the last corner of the race, which gave the Englishman the championship by one point from Massa, who won easily.

2009

Trulli was confident going into 2009. In the first race of the 2009 season, the Toyotas of Trulli and Glock started the race from the pitlane as their qualifying times were disallowed due to Toyota's flexible rear wing breaching regulations. Although Trulli started from the pit lane, he finished in an impressive 3rd place before being penalised 25 seconds, dropping him to 12th position for passing Lewis Hamilton under the safety car. A few days after this decision, Hamilton was disqualified from the race results for 'misleading' the race stewards by insisting that Jarno Trulli had passed him under the Safety Car although Hamilton in fact let him pass on purpose due to an order given by the team from the pitlane. Jarno Trulli therefore regained his third-place finish. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Trulli qualified on pole position but due to an unconventional tyre strategy, he finished third. However he did record the fastest lap, the only time he has achieved this in his career. He holds the record of having started the most Grands Prix before recording a fastest lap.

He crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix after being forced off the track at the second corner and being collected by Adrian Sutil, and then had a poor performance in Monaco as the Toyotas qualified on the back row of the grid. Improvements saw him score points in three of the next four races, before the following four rounds saw him struggle again as he failed to finish in the Top 10. At the Singapore Grand Prix he placed 12th while team-mate Glock was second. Trulli then fought back at the Japanese Grand Prix - which would prove to be Toyota's last home race - by qualifying and finishing second. He then qualified fourth in torrential conditions in Brazil, but like in Spain collided with Adrian Sutil on the opening lap of the race, an incident which enraged Trulli as he blamed Sutil for the crash. His obvious display of anger towards Sutil (who also retired) afterwards earned him a $10,000 fine. Trulli finished seventh at the season finale in Abu Dhabi scoring his final points in Toyota F1's last race.

Lotus (2010-2011)

2010

On 14 December 2009, Trulli was confirmed as one of the newly formed Lotus team's drivers, joining former McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen. He only finished one of the opening four races, a weaker reliability record than Kovalainen, leading him to note that "everything happens on my car and my car only - so to this day, my expectations have not been met".

At the launch of the Lotus T127, Trulli admitted in an interview with Autosport that US F1 and Sauber had been in contact with him. In late 2009, Trulli was asked to test a NASCAR stock car in North America for Toyota. The car was set up by Michael Waltrip Racing.

2011

Trulli continued to drive for Lotus in 2011, with Lotus Racing being renamed Team Lotus. He again partnered Heikki Kovalainen.

Trulli's season started with thirteenth in Australia, before a retirement with a clutch problem in Malaysia. Trulli finished each of the next six races, equalling his best season finish of thirteenth in Monaco. In Britain, he retired with an oil leak. For the German Grand Prix, Trulli was replaced by reserve driver Karun Chandhok. When he returned in Hungary, he retired due to a water leak. He finished 14th at both the Belgian Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix, where it was announced that Trulli would be retained for the 2012 season. After retiring in Singapore with a gearbox failure, Trulli finished 19th in Japan, 17th in Korea and 19th again, in India.

Caterham (2012)

Team Lotus was renamed to Caterham F1 ahead of the 2012 season. Trulli drove in one pre-season test, but on 17 February 2012 it was announced that Trulli was replaced by Vitaly Petrov. This left Formula One without an Italian driver at the start of the 2012 season, for the first time since 1969.

FIA Formula E Championship

Main article: Trulli GP

In 2014-15 season Trulli drove in the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship for his own team Trulli GP in partnership with Drayson Racing Technologies and Super Nova Racing, as announced on 18 June 2014. After failing to pass scrutineering of their new drivetrain for the first two races of the 2015-16 season, the team withdrew from the championship.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1993	Italian Formula Three	MC Motorsport	6	0	0	0	?	0	NC
1994	British Formula Three	RC Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1995	German Formula Three	KMS	12	2	1	1	3	95	4th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
1996	German Formula Three	Opel Team KMS Benetton Formula	15	6	7	1	10	206	1st
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
	Grand Prix de Monaco F3		1	0	1	0	0	N/A	18th
	Masters of Formula Three		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	18th
1997	Formula One	Minardi Team	7	0	0	0	0	0	15th
		Prost Gauloises Blondes	7	0	0	0	0	3
1998	Formula One	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	16	0	0	0	0	1	15th
1999	Formula One	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	16	0	0	0	1	7	11th
2000	Formula One	Benson & Hedges Jordan	17	0	0	0	0	6	10th
2001	Formula One	Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda	17	0	0	0	0	12	9th
2002	Formula One	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	9	8th
2003	Formula One	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	16	0	0	0	1	33	8th
2004	Formula One	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	15	1	2	0	2	46	6th
		Panasonic Toyota Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0
2005	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	19	0	1	0	3	43	7th
2006	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	18	0	0	0	0	15	12th
2007	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	17	0	0	0	0	8	13th
2008	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	18	0	0	0	1	31	9th
2009	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	17	0	1	1	3	32.5	8th
2010	Formula One	Lotus Racing	19	0	0	0	0	0	21st
2011	Formula One	Team Lotus	18	0	0	0	0	0	21st
2012	Formula One	Caterham F1 Team	Pre Season Test driver
2014-15	Formula E	Trulli GP	11	0	1	0	0	15	20th
2015-16	Formula E	Trulli GP	1	0	0	0	0	0*	NC*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
1997	Minardi Team	Minardi Team M197	Hart 830 AV7 3.0 V8	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN													15th	3
	Prost Gauloises Blondes	Prost JS45	Mugen-Honda MF-301 HB 3.0 V10								FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR
1998	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	Prost AP01	Peugeot A16 3.0 V10	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	LUX	JPN				16th	1
1999	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	Prost AP02	Peugeot A18 3.0 V10	AUS	BRA	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	EUR	MAL	JPN				11th	7
2000	Benson & Hedges Jordan	Jordan EJ10	Mugen-Honda MF-301 HE 3.0 V10	AUS	BRA	SMR	GBR	ESP	EUR	MON	CAN	FRA	AUT										10th	6
		Jordan EJ10B												GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN	MAL
2001	Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda	Jordan EJ11	Honda RA001E 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			9th	12
2002	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	Renault R202	Renault RS22 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	FRA	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			8th	9
2003	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	Renault R23	Renault RS23 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA										8th	33
		Renault R23B												GBR	GER	HUN	ITA	USA	JPN
2004	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	Renault R24	Renault RS24 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN				6th	46
	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF104B	Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10																	JPN	BRA
2005	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF105	Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	BRA			7th	43
		Toyota TF105B																			JPN	CHN
2006	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF106	Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8	BHR	MAL	AUS	SMR	EUR	ESP														12th	15
		Toyota TF106B								MON	GBR	CAN	USA	FRA	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA
2007	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF107	Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	EUR	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	JPN	CHN	BRA			13th	8
2008	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF108	Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	CHN	BRA		9th	31
2009	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF109	Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	CHN	BHR	ESP	MON	TUR	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	BRA	ABU			8th	32.5
2010	Lotus Racing	Lotus T127	Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8	BHR	AUS	MAL	CHN	ESP	MON	TUR	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	BRA	ABU	21st	0
2011	Team Lotus	Lotus T128	Renault RS27 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	CHN	TUR	ESP	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU	BRA	21st	0

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos	Points
2014-15	Trulli GP	Spark-Renault SRT 01E	BEI	PUT	PDE	BNA	MIA	LBH	MON	BER	MOS	LON	LON	20th	15
2015-16	Trulli GP	Spark-Motomatica JT-01	BEI	PUT	PDE	BNA	MEX	LBH	PAR	BER	MOS	LON	LON	NC*	0*

* Season still in progress.
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Pre-Formula One career

• 1996: Champion in German Formula 3 (KMS Dallara-Opel)
• 1995: 4th in German Formula 3 (KMS Dallara-Opel), 1st in Italian Karting class 100 FA, 1st in World karting class 125FC, Senna Memorial World Cup winner
• 1994: Senna Memorial World Cup winner, 1st in North American class 100SA, 1st in European class 100SA
• 1993: 2nd in World karting Champion class 100 SA, 1st in Grand prix of Japan Class 100 FSA
• 1992: 2nd in World karting class 125 FC
• 1991: Champion in Karting World Championship 100 FK
• 1990: 1st in Grand Prix of Hong Kong Class 100 FA
• 1988-1990: Three times Champion in Italian National 100 Class
• 1983-1995: Karting

Helmet

Trulli's original helmet design was white with a blue shape around the visor with a blue circle in the top and a green J with a red T in the sides. A ring around the blue circle was incorporated when he raced at Jordan and Renault, being coloured after the team's main sponsor. In 2004 his helmet changed from white to chromed silver and the shape, the J and the T became chromed with black outline. Later, in his first Toyota years the top became red and was added a white ring around the red circle. Finally in 2008 the helmet turned red with the J and the T of the original colours (and white outline) plus a white line on the chin area. From his Lotus years, the helmet design remained intact, with the change of the shades of colour from chromed to normal shades (the chromed silver becomes white).

Personal life

Trulli is married to Barbara and they have two sons, Enzo (b. 2005), named after Trulli's father, and Marco (b. 2006). He is the co-owner of a vineyard in the Abruzzo region in Italy and produces his own wine. He also has his own range of Karts named 'Trulli Kart'; Trulli himself was a World Champion at Karting level.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]