Alonso: Trulli was toughest team mate in qualifying

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In the round-up: Fernando Alonso says of all his team mates – which includes Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa – the quickest over a single lap was Jarno Trulli.

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‘The others’ (Ferrari)

Alonso: “Trulli’s qualifying ability was the best I’ve ever come across among all my team mates.”

Mallya finds a needed backer in Diageo (Business Standard)

“After investing as much as $36 million in Mallya’s personal sorghum beer company in South Africa and bringing on board Smirnoff (the vodka brand of Diageo) as one of the sponsors of Mallya’s Sahara Force India racing team, Diageo has extended its corporate guarantee by another six months on the $135-million loan Mallya has taken for one of his personal companies, Watson Ltd. The latter is also one of the vehicles used by Mallya for his Formula1 (F1) team.”

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On this day in F1

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55 comments on “Alonso: Trulli was toughest team mate in qualifying”

  1. In the end, the Renault team sacked Trulli because of his pace and letting slip a podium at their home event I the final corners of the race. Also, I would question why there isn’t an Italian driver in f1. Valsecchi was fast in Gp2.

    1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
      18th August 2014, 8:35

      because of Trullis pace. Ehhh come on!?

      1. Don;t forget the “Trulli Train” effect… He was fast in qualy, but fairly useless in a race. If Toyota 2009 had raced, he would probably have given them their first victory & possibly a WDC over Brawn GP (Triple Diffuser).

    2. Mr win or lose
      18th August 2014, 9:47

      Actually, Trulli and Alonso were fairly evenly matched in 2004. It was only after the French Grand Prix when it all started to go downhill for Trulli.

      1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        18th August 2014, 9:58

        Briatore seemed to turn on Trulli well before his performance dipped. It seemed to me at the time that Jarno’s performance was a result of Briatore’s bullying rather than the other way round.

        It’s nice of Fernando to remember Trulli, a truly exceptional driver over one lap.

      2. Yes, Trulli and at times Fisichella outpaced Alonso like no one really not even Lewis.

  2. Alonso also said he had an incredible challenge from Fisichella when they were teammates… I think there was a subtext to that interview, something along the lines of “I’m really saying whatever I think will get me out of this interview fastest”

    1. And this being an official Ferrari publication we won’t mention any non Ferrari personnel.

      1. should have watched before commenting, but watching just reaffirmed that these in-house interviews are not worth the time.

  3. Watching that 74 AGP totally confirmed all the improvements in coverage FOM has made as recently stated by @gt-racer, even the interviewers are vastly better. If only everything Bernie did was as successful.

    1. Also proves that you can’t compare racing pre FOM directed coverage with post FOM coverage just by watching the video.

  4. Hehe What about Hamil…. Never mind LMAO

    1. get over yourself and go back and watch the era with Trulli, he was one of the best qualifiers in f1, even when in a Toyota.

  5. In the video,Alonso doesn’t even acknowledge lewis when mentioning the teammates,maybe he doesn’t remember 2007?

    1. The mental trauma of being beaten by a rookie eradicated it from his memory.

    2. After China 2007, Dennis said: “We competed against Alonso.” Nothing more to say…

      1. Well, what’s there to say anyway? That was after China. Things turned very sour way before that race.
        Alonso first cooperated in Spygate, then threatened to rat McLaren out. If I were a team boss, you’d better be sure I’d race him too with my other prodigy driver.

        All in all I immediately thought of Hamilton as well instead of Trulli.

      2. “After China 2007, Dennis said: “We competed against Alonso.” Nothing more to say…”

        Oh you mean the same Dennis that gave Alonso the win in Monaco by stopping Hamilton from challenging him?

        Funny how selective memory works, isn’t it?

  6. If I were Alonso I’d be jealous of Lewis too but he did beat Alonso fair and square as a rookie so its not that he doesn’t deserve the fastest car!

    Also, I think Max has hindered his career by joining the worlds longest waiting list which is the Red Bull junior programme. The only driver which could get through that to F1 is Jan Mardenborough because he’s motorsports biggest “rags to riches” story – something that’ll generate a lot of interest.

    1. I see more potential in Max than I see in Jan. But like you said, young Jan’s story is incredible and he learns fast and can eventually be a force in GP3 next year if he doesn’t move up to GP2.

      Max is super fast but before him and Jan there’s a very promising driver in RB Junior Programme: Carlos Sainz Junior. I was expecting Red Bull to put Antonio Felix da Costa in a Torro Rosso next year, but now I’d bet it’s Sainz Junior who will get the seat and I think it will be fun to see the intra-team battle of Kvyat and Sainz Junior….

    2. Also, I think Max has hindered his career by joining the worlds longest waiting list which is the Red Bull junior programme.

      As opposed to Frijns, who wanted to do things himself and is now “test driver” at Caterham?
      As opposed to Vandoorne, who is in the McLaren camp with not too much perspective on a race seat? Mark my words, they won’t have Magnussen and Vandoorne together in the McLaren anytime soon.
      As opposed to Marciello, who… well, when was the last time a Ferrari academy driver was put in a decent seat in F1? And what did Ferrari do when they actually had the chance last year to put a talent like Bianchi in their seat? Right!

      At least the Red Bull Junior programma regularly lets drivers go on to reach F1. Only caveat: you have to perform really well. Vettel and Ricciardo came through the ranks and are now in the main RBR team. Name me any one team on the grid that has two of their own youth drivers racing?
      Buemi and Alguersuari had their shots and weren’t picked up by anyone (Buemi is still employed by RBR though).
      Vergne has had his share of F1 exposure.
      Kvyat is now there and doing well.

      That’s 6 drivers since 2007 entering F1 through RBR’s junior programme. Almost one per year. Now name me any other junior programme that has let 6 young talents in F1 since then before calling it a career hindrance or “worlds longest waiting list”. No wait. Name me a junior programme that has let half of that in.

    3. Well this is awkward…

      1. I was going to come back for that too but you beat me to it!

  7. As I recall it (and a quick Google search confirms) Alonso edged Trulli over their time together as teammates – 17-16 in qualifying.

    Hamilton beat him 9-8 or 10-7 depending on how you interpret Alonso’s penalty for intentionally blocking Hamilton in qualifying.

    I don’t understand how the teammate who beat him is slower than the one he bested, but Alonso always has had a selective memory. To his credit there isn’t much between them all, but there it is.

    1. Maybe he thinks he underperformed in 2007? Maybe Trulli being the first real teammate who challenged him made a mark? Its all really just Alonso’s perception of others.

    2. But in 2004 Trulli beat him on points and in qualifying. Remember that Trulli left Renault early so the tally only counts to the 3rd last or penultimate race. I remember that precisely.

    3. Alonso’s assessment in inconsistent at best.

      1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
        18th August 2014, 8:40

        is inconsistent you mean?

        Anyway strange, or not so maybe.., he didn’t mention Hamilton the whole interview.

  8. Jack (@jackisthestig)
    18th August 2014, 0:58

    Thats a kick in the balls for Tarso Marques!

    1. If that’s not COTD I will be bitterly disappointed! Still laughing a full five minutes after reading this!

  9. Wasnt there talk of banning alcohol sponsoring?

    1. In some countries and I’ve read that European Commission is studying a community wide ban… maybe down the road only sports bands and toy makers will be allowed to sponsor professional sports.

      Personally I find it weird banning sponsorship from legal enterprises…

      Ban on tobacco, alcohol, online betting…

      1. Exactly. If we’re banning sponsorship purely on moral grounds, then maybe we should ban banks next?

        1. We should ban Bernie!

    2. I can comprehensively say that I have never been convinced by any advertising to want to smoke, as a 16 year-old. I have watched old F1 racing with obviously plenty of Marlboro logos prominent, but I’d never touch a cigarette.

      A far more potent influence is your peer group in getting you started – only after that I would reason would advertising have an effect in dictating any brand loyalty.

  10. When Raikkonen gets that front end, all hell will break loose inside Ferrari because Alonso could easily get outqualified at every race by Kimi. I am serious here. If he seriously thinks Trulli is faster than Raikkonen he needs his head checked. Trulli great over 1 lap, nowhere near the Iceman when on form.

    1. To be fair, why would Alonso mention Kimi as being the team mate who proved toughest in qualifying, when Kimi hasn’t done too well up until now? Alonso is not clairvoyant so he can’t possibly know what will happen when or if Kimi will ever return to the form of olden days.

      It’s not mentioning Hamilton here that strikes me instead. Not mentioning Kimi at this point is normal.

    2. What makes you think Alonso won’t improve even further once the front end of the car is fixed???

      I said Alonso was going to eat Kimi for breakfast before this season started, and I’m guessing you were among the people who thought Kimi would actually make Alonso look average.

      It’s great to see you’re still keeping the faith. But get real… Kimi is looking like Alonso’s weakest teammate right now… barring Piquet Jr. of course

    3. please Greg, if Kimi was so great, he would drive great no matter what car he had under him. the front end is an excuse. being a 2 dimensional driver and being quick only when the car suits you is not enough in F1, you need the 3rd dimension like Alonso has and extract the performance with whatever machinery you have. will you make the same comment at the end of the season or at the end of next season if Kimi is still being dominated? come on, it is half way through the season and he is being paid millions of dollars, admit he is underperforming. Kimis best days were 2002-2006, he is well past his prime. Truilli was a mighty qualifier, any blind man could see that, he was often the best in the mid 2000s

  11. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
    18th August 2014, 8:26

    I made a thread in the forums section once upon a time — about Alonso v Trullli i qualifying, considering BOTH 2003 and 2004 but SPECIALLY 2004.

    I wanted to know that because Alonso lets admit it had big problems getting pole positions the last five seasons when he had to face Hamilton, and Vettel, and Webber, respectively.

    My subjective opinion is that I considered Alonso to be a bit faster in 2003, and Trulli vice versa in -04. All in all, both were equally good (thats *my* impression and opinion though). Strange he says that when he had a certain a Hamilton as a teammate in 07, and Hamilton is arguably _the_ fastest driver in F1, slightly fastr than Vettel.

    1. Hamilton isn’t the fastest, as Rosberg beats him too often.

      1. “as Rosberg beats him too often.”

        Yeah, keep trying to convince yourself that Rosberg is ahead on pure pace alone.

        1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
          19th August 2014, 1:01

          F1 experts, more so than you and me, says that Hamilton have near-Senna (and on level with or even more than MSC-)-capability of raw raw raw speed. Specially qualifying. And by experts I mean people from MotorsportMagazine, for instance.

      2. Rosberg’s had the good luck, that’s why.

  12. They all get faster for the first few years so Jarno was a bit flattered being in his 6th year against a young 2nd-year, just as things could only be worse for Nando if he reunited with Lewis now (not that it wouldn’t be epic). Anyway Nando is a master of mental competition and is never in a million years going to say Lewis was his fastest competition. This a fun story, is alll.

    ISTR Jarno refused to sign Flav as his management and that didn’t exactly help his prospects in the team. But he was just too much of a softie really, liike Fisi.

  13. Good to see Trulli getting the recognition that he deserves. Renault in 2004 was essentially Team Alonso if you’d ask Briatore. Alonso would be the number one driver, Trulli the number two – but that’s not what it looked like on track. And even worse, then comes along the Monaco GP: Trulli wins, Alonso crashes out.

    During that whole year, I think Trulli never really felt comfortable within the team, which was made clear by Briatore’s outburst following the French GP. I suspect that the two were never given equal material, but I can’t back that up with concrete evidence.

    Anyway, I still am and will always be a Trulli fan, and Alonso saying he was his toughest competitor in qualifying means a lot.

    1. Things just didn’t seem right toward the end of 2004. I guess the move to Toyota was good for everyone. Too bad they screwed both his and Glock’s careers in the end though.

      It’s a shame he never got to show his worth in a true race winning car. Oh well!

    2. @andae23
      Take off your tin foil hat. It’s much simpler than that. Trulli changed management. Before the relationship between him and Flavio deteriorated, Falvio was his manager. When Trulli changed the management, it didn’t really sit well with Flav, and Flav is not one of the most forgiving characters. The fact that it was unprofessional to get mad at Trulli for changing the management had little impact on Flav’s decisions. But the truth is, all that had absolutely nothing to do with Alonso.

      1. But the truth is, all that had absolutely nothing to do with Alonso.

        On the contrary, I think Alonso was the problem, in a way. Briatore had two of his pupils driving for Renault at the same time. It was clear that Alonso had great potential, perhaps a future World Champion, so what to do with Trulli? He later admitted that he felt the tension early in the season already, something wasn’t right.

        I believe that Alonso’s talent made Trulli obsolete. Whatever it was, it was Briatore who dumped Trulli, not the other way around.

  14. It seems that some people want to speak for Alonso’s mind. Alonso has a great respect for Lewis, he praised many times Lewis’s racing abilities and hid raw speed. In 2007 Alonso struggled in the first part of the season to adapt to the Bridgestone tyres, he was also struggling with the brakes, only in the second part of the season he got the car at his like, while in Renault he was already comfortable because he developed his driving style around those heavy rear end Renault F1 cars and the Michelin tyres.
    I’m not saying that Lewis outqualified Fernando because Fernando was struggling, credit goes to Lewis in this case but Trulli who was at his best probably in those years has given Alonso a good run for his money in his “own territory” and at the end that’s Alonso’s assessment and he is the one that raced against them not us. BTW Ayrton Senna when he was asked about the driver who satisfied him the most when racing against, he said “Terry Fullerton” was for him a very complete driver and he enjoyed very much driving with him. I guess he was not trying to get under Prost’s skin but that was simply his opinion.

    1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
      19th August 2014, 1:12

      other than that 2006-Renault, that 2005-renault, and MP4-22, have constructors ever since or before these three years given Alonso a car worthy of pole postions??
      In those three years, he took 15 pole position if I recall correctly.. 7 in 05, 7 in 06, 2 (or more??) in 2007.

      Have ppl not considered the possibility that maybe the 04-Renault a bit more suited to Trulli than Alonso – – since Alonso was actually (more or less) way better than Trulli in 2003? Consider the fact that in 2003 Fernando was a 22 old kid.

      1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
        19th August 2014, 1:18

        *16 poles overall.

        **kid in the sense that there’s a 7 year diference between them. Maybe that’s not that much, but with the slighty lesser simulator technology in 2003 (Fernandos first race seat year with Ren, …simulators tech compared to 2010 and after), don’t you think Alonso was pretty much capable and “ready” for his age?? I mean he matured early, as VEttel, in every F1-aspect.

  15. Too late for the caption comp… but…

    “I told him he was being superstitious when he said everything breaks
    on the right hand side of the garage!?!”

  16. TRULLI BEAT ALONSO in 2004, He lost a bit of form in the latter half of year, but up until he was fired:

    He outpointed ALO (see points at the end of IT GP)
    Got the only victory that year
    Beat ALO in more races (ALO DNF through driver errors on all DNF, except Canada)
    Got more poles,
    And this surprised me, he actually had less mistakes. ALO only had one mech DNF (Canada) all the other DNFs were caused by Spins, accidents and puncturing his own tyres.

    In the end he was fired, for a mistake in Italy

    ALO was better than Trulli the prior year

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