There was a time when Jarno Trulli’s Formula 1 career looked in danger of fizzling out anonymously as his Toyota team struggled to find consistent form.

But an improved 2008 car allowed Trulli to remind the world that he remains an awesome talent.

He is particularly renowned for his qualifying speed, often achieving some miraculous positions with middling cars.

A wine maker in his native Pescara, Trulli is an artist behind the wheel of an F1 car, but a sensitive and enigmatic one who can produce astonishing speed on some weekends, only to go totally unnoticed at the next race if the handling is not to his liking.

At his best, though, the Italian veteran is a match for anyone – as he proved when hassling the McLarens in the early rounds last year, and battling his way to the podium in France.

It would be a travesty if he left F1 with just a solitary win to his name, but Trulli’s chances of rectifying that statistic depend more on Toyota’s progress than his own performances.


Career log

Trulli made a low-key F1 debut with Minardi in 1997, then switched to Prost at mid-season to replace the injured Olivier Panis.

He initially failed to replicate Panis’s fine form, but made a breakthrough in Austria, where he led for much of the race.

Trulli was rewarded with a full-time Prost contract, but unfortunately the 1998 car was disastrous.

After a better 1999, when Trulli fought for third in Australia and took his first podium at the Nurburgring, Jordan chose him to replace Damon Hill.

It was during this period that Trulli’s reputation as an ace qualifier but a suspect racer was established.

Although unreliability played a part, the statistics showed that Trulli started in the top five far more regularly than he finished there.

The theme continued when he joined Renault in 2002 and dominated team-mate Jenson Button in qualifying only to score fewer points than the Englishman.

Trulli was overshadowed by new partner Fernando Alonso the following year, but started 2004 very brightly – beating Alonso several times and finally taking his first win at Monaco.

Then it all unravelled horribly as relations with his manager and team boss Flavio Briatore collapsed.

Renault was furious when Trulli lost third place to Rubens Barrichello at the final corner in France – just one of several off-key moments during the summer.

He was sacked following an anonymous ninth place at Monza, but soon reappeared with Toyota, having signed a 2005 deal with the squad.

Trulli’s first season with Toyota was arguably his best ever.

He comprehensively beat team-mate Ralf Schumacher, and scored Toyota’s first ever F1 podiums.

The Cologne-based squad couldn’t maintain that momentum and Trulli had little to celebrate in 2006 and 2007, but last year’s slight upswing and promising winter testing form bode well for ‘09.


The early years

Trulli had just 30 car races under his belt prior to his F1 debut.

Following a sensational karting career, he had stepped straight into German Formula 3 in mid-1995 and ended the year with a pair of wins.

That performance earned Trulli a management deal with Briatore and, having underlined his future star status by dominating the 1996 German F3 Championship, the Italian was swiftly promoted into F1.