Trulli Not Ruling Out Repeat Win

The Italian will have a job repeating the debut win he achieved for Renault with his new team Toyota on Sunday after a difficult first practice for the most-watched and most glamorous race in the championship.

He has not ruled it out however.

"It is a great feeling, but now it's one year later and I am back to try to regain this fantastic result," he said when asked how he felt to be back in action at the winding Mediterranean street circuit.

"It is not going to be easy, it is going to be a tough weekend for everyone because we know Monaco is a tough Grand Prix," he added.

Trulli, second in the Championship after an impressive start to the season, was only 13th fastest in both of Thursday's sessions after struggling for grip on one of his favourite circuits.

"It was a bit of a difficult day, because I tried different set-ups in tyres but I think I didn't get it right," he said.

"There was a lot of traffic, on my new set of tyres I couldn't get it right and for tomorrow I have to go back to a more conventional set-up."

Trulli's win last year ended Michael Schumacher's run of five victories in a row in the 2004 season and came as a breath of fresh air in a Championship stifled by Ferrari success.

That weekend, Trulli dominated from start to finish but Championship leader Fernando Alonso's Renault and Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren are the favourites now, even if the Italian and his team are both second in the standings after five races.

Another victory for him on Sunday would be Toyota's first in Formula One after collecting three podium finishes with the ex-Renault driver this year.

Much will depend on qualifying, with overtaking extremely difficult, but little can be taken for granted in a race that has thrown up surprises in the past.

"It is important that everything goes well because a safety car is enough to completely mix up your strategy," said Trulli. "You do a different strategy here and you can be successful with this different strategy if things go well for you.

"For example, last year I won with two safety cars and everything went well. This year, I may even win starting from the back of the grid, you never know.

"In Monaco anything can happen, and this is what I believe. This is the only race where you can't really expect anything from anyone."