Jarno Trulli reminds Fanpage.it of his unforgettable victory in the Monaco GP twenty years ago. The memories of that weekend and the aftermath with Briatore: “But today relations are good again.”
It’s been 20 years since that Monte Carlo GPbut the images are still clear in the mind of Jarno Trulli, who then went to the top step of the podium with Renault in the only victory of a career full of emotions. Today the 49-year-old from Abruzzo divides his commitments between his wine company in Alanno (Pescara) and the role of teacher of his son Enzo, former Formula 3 and now driver in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship. The future will see him as a coach in a motoring program that will arrive on TV at the end of the year.
In 74 years of F1 Grands Prix recognized in Monte Carlo, only you and Patrese in 1982 (with Brabham, ed.) are the only Italians to have won. A statistic that makes you proud?
“It’s the awareness of having won one of the most difficult Grand Prix in the motorsport scene, for me that race was important and made me proud of what I had done. An unparalleled victory, the right recognition for my career.”
Would you trade the Monte Carlo victory for another at a different circuit?
“I wouldn’t trade it, because to win in Monte Carlo the driver must have great talent. A track where the car matters less, something that doesn’t happen on many other tracks in the World Championship. If I had won for a second time in my career, however, I would have liked to do it in Monza, because it is my home GP and it is a truly special track.”
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How do you drive in the Principality?
“Head, physique and zero errors. There are no straights, but continuous changes of direction. The Piscine chicane is decisive, after a first sector of the engine up to the Casino and a second part from Loews to the Tobacconist where you have to put your best foot forward, managing traction when exiting the corners and coming out of the Tunnel strong. In the last part there are also the Rascasse and the Noghes: they must be taken well, to lean on the curb and sprint towards the finish line”.
Jarno Trulli on track in the 2004 Monaco GP.
Do you still remember that victory in 2004 clearly?
“Perfectly. It wasn’t easy to win both due to the difficulty of the track and having Alonso as a teammate at the time, a true predestined in that very competitive Renault. In Monte Carlo, pole says a lot and doing it on that Saturday guaranteed me ample chances of victory.
And the Sunday?
“I got into the car not thinking about anything, just about doing well, without distracting myself from the external surroundings. The pressure was on, but I would never have left that victory to anyone. Not even Schumacher, who was coming off five successes out of five at the start of the season, in that elusive F2004, and who after Monte Carlo won another seven times in a row. In that race in the Principality I got away well and stayed in control at the front. It was just a matter of not making mistakes. Behind Button (with the Bar-Honda, ed.) it didn’t worry me too much, since I was the one managing the pace, while Schumacher went out after a contact with Montoya’s Williams at the exit of the Tunnel. After the podium, at the end of the race, no exaggerated parties, just a quiet dinner with my parents in a restaurant near the circuit.”
That race in Monte Carlo, however, marked a watershed in his career, given that at the end of the championship he discussed it with his team principal at the time, Flavio Briatore, and raced the last two GPs in Suzuka and Interlagos with Toyota…
“Monte Carlo was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Briatore clearly wanted Alonso to win, but he crashed into the Tunnel. My success complicated the plans, since Flavio had different interests in the pilots. There were different views on the contractual level and so I was forced to leave. Today relations are fortunately good again. In the end Toyota was the one that gave me the most guarantees.”
Jarno Trulli with Flavio Briatore in Monaco 2004.
Does Formula 1 have more talented drivers today or once, when you were driving?
“More in my day, many today are not of great value. If that had been the case, Hamilton and Alonso wouldn’t still be there to compete. You can see there is a shortage of talent, except for a few names.”
However, Lewis and Fernando’s start to the season wasn’t exactly exciting…
“The car you drive always counts in order to achieve important results. I’m sure Hamilton will be able to say the same thing about him next year at Ferrari. It will certainly be a gamble for the Red Team, which said goodbye to Sainz to take on a rider at the end of his career but who can still have a say in him. Verstappen remains the strongest, but watch out for Leclerc and Norris.”
So was it right to let Sainz go for Lewis?
“A shame for him because he deserved to stay in Maranello, but Lewis still remains one of the best around and unfortunately there is no third seat.”
Adrian Newey will say goodbye to the role of Red Bull technical director at the end of the season, would he see it well in Emilia?
“Absolutely yes, it would be a huge plus for Ferrari. Taking one of the best engineers in the history of F1, who has almost always designed winning cars in different teams, would be very useful. It would be a significant expense, but for me it is also risky. The results, however, would have to wait a few years.”
You have often said that today’s Formula 1 bores you…
“There are few overtakings, the cars are too heavy, cumbersome. Street circuits already have narrow tracks, so it becomes even more difficult. In Monte Carlo, for example, we were already cramped in our time and the single-seaters were shorter and lighter. Thus it is even more impossible to overtake, qualification becomes more decisive. Then many rules in the race are difficult to understand, others are clearer. Everything is more complicated today.”
Who would like to challenge the current drivers of the Trulli of yesteryear on the track?
“Every driver would like to challenge the strongest on the grid, so I say Verstappen. I would also like to do it with Norris, who after Miami is called upon to reconfirm himself in a finally competitive car after years of problems with McLaren. He is confirming what was hoped about him.”
And Leclerc?
“I like it, when he had a competitive Ferrari things went better, in others a little less. But I repeat: without the car it is impossible to win. He’s definitely not worth less than Norris.”
Life off the track sees her living in Lugano but having a wine estate in Alanno, a stone’s throw from her hometown of Pescara, in Abruzzo. How is it going?
“The business grows year after year, we are increasingly solid as a company and not only at a national level. We make ourselves more and more known even during important events, such as Vinitaly. We produce up to 30 wines in total, many of which are ecologically certified, ranging between 12 and 16 degrees and with prices between eight and 100 euros. Among my favorites is the ‘Jarno Rosso’, dried from a Montepulciano grape, as in the Amarone production process. Or the ‘Cadetto’, a wine born in concrete tanks, and ‘L’Amorino’, another Montepulciano perfected in oak barrels of 500 liters each. In 2016, the latter won the tenth ‘Tre Bicchieri’ in the ‘Vini d’Italia 2021’ guide”.
Returning to the track, he will also coach in a new format.
“I will be the ambassador of a new TV format on motors. With Rosario Campagna from Puresport we will transform your driving courses into a reality show. I will have to judge kids with driving aptitude in a sort of talent show that an international broadcaster (we are talking about Discovery, ed.) will broadcast at the end of 2024. The recordings with the pre-selections will be held and then we will choose the 10 competitors. We will make the announcement next week.”
Can you explain your role better?
“We will put various young people to the test, not to look for the champion or to sell them a fake dream, but to understand which of them has enough talent to take them to race in a real Formula 3 race. Yes, because the champion will race in Monza in the Formula X Italian Series. I will be part of the jury and coaching, I will be in charge of choosing the drivers, giving them judgments also at single-seater level. It’s a bet and I wanted to accept it. On a television level, it could be a really good turning point, because it’s a real reality show, about a story that isn’t invented.”
And her son Enzo continues with the dream of becoming a great pilot like her.
“After F3 he is now in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship (on board a Ferrari 296 GT3 of the Easy Race team, ed.). He would like to return to single-seaters, but in this sport money matters a lot and I can’t find sponsors, so I don’t have the financial support to be able to plan an important career like many drivers have been able to have in the past.”
