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Jarno Trulli Q&A

While Fernando Alonso has been stacking up the points, it's been a relatively quiet start to the season for Renault team-mate Jarno Trulli. However, the Italian was right behind the pole-winning Alonso in qualifying in Malaysia, with a heavier fuel load. Had he not been punted off by Michael Schumacher, he might have done a lot better than fifth, a result he earlier achieved in Australia. In Brazil he kept it on the island when many others didn't, but had the misfortune to pit just before the red flag, and had to settle for eighth. Last weekend in Imola he had to jump into Alonso's T-car just before qualifying, and was never able to recover from a disappointing flying lap. Adam Cooper asked Trulli about San Marino and the season so far



"We had a problem with the engine in the warm-up, just before qualifying. So I had to take the T-car, which was basically set up for Fernando. And for the first time this year, the set-ups were totally different. It was not only the springs and stuff, but the whole conception of the set-up, in terms of weight distribution and so on. But I think it must have had some other problem as well, because I was too slow. They are still trying to find out."



"No, but I drove it in Friday testing for one lap, and I had a problem. I didn't like it, and I was very slow as well!"



"It's only one lap, so it's difficult to say. But I was a little surprised by the time. I wanted to start from the pit lane with my race car, because I was happy about that. But the team investigated that and said that the strategy wouldn't work and I would end up behind too many other cars. In Imola it's impossible to overtake, so we decided to start normally from the grid. And the race was just awful for me!"



"It's a big frustration. On Saturday I'd felt that there was something strange, and had the feeling that something was wrong, but I had no confirmation, because of the new rules. The team can take a look at the car after qualifying, but you can't do much anyway. And sometimes you can't see the problem. I'm not sure they'll ever find it, because we had something like this last year too."



"I finished last for the second race in a row! You can't learn anything when you're 1.5s slower than you should be."



"Yes, that is very good. So far it has been very reliable, and I'm happy about it."



"Yes, I'm very happy with the way the car and the team are performing. I've nothing to complain about. I'm really surprised at the way things have been working out. Maybe a little bit more luck will help me, but in general it's going well."



"Yes, even if maybe it's a little bit restricted. If you have a problem or make a mistake, it hurts you all weekend."



"I actually stopped early because I was behind people, otherwise I could have gone even further. I was 0.17s slower in qualifying. I don't see it as my pole, but I feel I was quicker than Fernando in Malaysia, because I had more fuel on board. But it wasn't my pole, because maybe some other people had more fuel than us."



"Yeah I know, but this happens in life! I don't care about it."



"For sure we've got a strong car. The aerodynamics are very good. The only problem there are very long straights there which affect the performance a lot, but in general I think we are confident to do well there."



"Fernando tested there with the new car, but I didn't. But the car was competitive."



"It could be, but we still have the testing Friday mornings. On a race weekend I think it's good to test in the morning, because basically we can set up the car as well as we want, try different set ups, try different tyres. We can develop the car on race weekends."



"Yes, in some ways it's good! You feel a bit better..."

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