Symonds: Trulli in one of his best drives!

By role
October 13 2003

Renault Executive Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds was quite sattisfied with the effort of Italian driver Jarno Trulli yesterday at Suzuka. The Italian started the race on 19th position due to the changing weather conditions during qualifying on Saturday.

Despite the bad luck Trulli set to do his best at the demanding Suzuka track and was able to finsh 5th after a hard fought battle during most of the race. If it wouldn't have been for trafic Trulli could have finished higher up the grid.

After the race the Italian was also quite sattisfied with the result:

"A fantastic race for me: we didn't expect to score points after starting at the back, and if it hadn't been for the traffic after my second stop, I could have finished fourth. I want to thank the team, who gave me a strong car all weekend. The real damage was done on Saturday, when I could have got pole if it hadn't rained. We proved during the race that we were quick enough to fight at the front." Said the Italian.

Could the Italian have finished on the podium if he had started at the front of the grid?

"Definitely, it was one of my best races this year. But we really lost the chance during qualifying yesterday, when the rain prevented me from doing a timed lap although I could have got pole in the dry. We could certainly have finished higher, but I’m not complaining." He added. "“It was crazy! I got a great start, and then just pushed like mad. The car handled fantastically: I had lots of confidence in the car, and could really push. We managed to round the season off with a few more points: we did a good job.”

Pat Symonds totally agrees with the Italian:

"Jarno put in one of his best drives of the year yesterday. He raced in very difficult circumstances from the back of the grid, but attacked all the way and made the best of every opportunity. Moving from nineteenth to fifth position in a race which saw just four retirements is quite an achievement, and the only way of doing so is with a strong, aggressive drive." Said Symonds.

Team manager Flavio Briatore agreed also:

"Both drivers put in excellent performances, especially Jarno from the back of the grid, and it was frustrating to see Fernando retire."