Trulli apologises to Kovalainen

The Toyota driver crashed into the back of Kovalainen's Renault at the Adelaide hairpin on the opening lap, after misjudging his braking point.

Kovalainen spun and dropped to the bottom of the field before pitting for repairs. Trulli was forced to retire from the race.

"It was a racing accident," said Trulli. "The field was very bunched up on the first lap and to be honest I just misjudged it going into the hairpin. I was not attacking anyone but I just braked too late and I hit Kovalainen.

"I am really sorry for him because it spoiled his race, and mine as well. Unfortunately I just made a mistake. The impact damaged my suspension as well as my front wing. I got back to the pits but there was no way for us to continue.

"It's a real shame because I am confident we had a good strategy and I expected to score points today. But the next race is very soon and with everyone in the team working so hard I am sure we will get a better result at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix."

Trulli's teammate Ralf Schumacher was also hampered by the accident, as he had to take evasive action and was overtaken by a few cars. The German went on to finish in 10th.

"It's a shame that we didn't score points because our pace was competitive," Schumacher said. "The circumstances on the first lap, when Jarno hit Kovalainen at the hairpin, were unfortunate for me.

"I couldn't go anywhere and lost a couple of positions as everyone tried to get through the corner safely so I was a bit unlucky. I was a lot quicker than Barrichello but I couldn't overtake.

"From there on the race was difficult and I lost 20 seconds before my first pit stop. We kept fighting and put some good lap times in, which showed the potential of the car.

"We are continuously developing the car and I'm sure we will make more progress to improve the car. Silverstone is a different track and a new race. We had a promising test their recently so I hope to score some points."