Jarno Trulli was destined to become a racer. Named in honor of a Finnish motorcycle champion, Trulli showed off his command of the road from an early age by taking over the Italian and European Go-Kart championships.Additional victories followed abroad, and his German Formula Three championship win in 1996 prompted his jump up to Formula One with Minardi. Seven impressive races later, Trulli was snatched up by Prost to replace injured driver Olivier Panis.
Trulli spent the next six seasons behind the wheel for Prost, Jordan and Renault. However, each team was clearly on the downward swing, leaving him to struggle with uncompetitive cars and vastly inferior equipment. As a result, he failed to win a single race and never finished higher than eighth in the Championship rankings.
Luckily, Trulli finally managed to reverse his fortunes in 2004, finishing the season with two podium finishes, two pole positions and a stunning victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. No longer just a “qualifying specialist,” he left Renault toward the end of the season and joined Toyota. It proved to be a savvy move, as Trulli had one of his finest seasons to date in 2005, compiling 43 points en route to finishing seventh in the Championship rankings.
He also provided the up-and-coming team with its first podium finishes and its first pole. “I've really settled down in the team,” he says. “I'm 100% committed to Toyota and happy to be here. Step by step we're getting close to where we want to get." His career now back on track, there’s no telling how dominant Trulli can become.
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