please log in to view this image In an F1 career lasting almost 15 years and including 248 races, Jarno Trulli has achieved eleven podium finishes, four pole positions and one victory. As a rookie, he immediately made his mark by embarrassing his more experienced teammates and built up a reputation of being a qualifying master. Today things look so different and his reputation no longer exists. Jarno Trulli is clearly in the latter stages of his career and I believe the end of the 2011 season will be the perfect opportunity for Trulli to leave the sport with dignity and make way for a younger driver. RECENT PERFORMANCE For me, Trulli started to lose it towards the end of 2009 when Kobayashi drove for the final 2 races of the season and he comfortably outperformed Trulli in both races. In 2010 Trulli was no longer a dominant force - his best efforts in qualifying could only match that of Kovalainen's and he was weaker in the races, as he always has been. 2011 has been much worse. While stats show his best finish was 13th to Kovalainen's 14th (without Trulli, HRT would be ahead of Team Lotus in the Constructors), Kovalainen has been very unlucky this season and on current form is easily the better driver. We'll have to wait and see whether power steering is holding him back like he claims. QUALIFYING MASTER NO MORE Trulli used to be feared when it came to speed over one lap. What happened to him? His superb qualifying performances of the past are long gone and this year his teammate has been beaten him 9 times out of 10 in qualifying. TEAM LOTUS What more does he have to offer to Team Lotus? They don't need his experience and driver feedback because they have Kovalainen. The fact that the team replaced him for the German Grand Prix is a clear sign that the team don't need him and would have no problems replacing him in the future. Team Lotus are an ambitious team who are working hard to establish themselves as a midfield team in the future. Trulli can't do much for them in the long term, unless he vacates his seat. AGE At 37, he's one of the oldest drivers on the grid. Experience is useful but Trulli peaked a long time ago and just like in any other sport, age affects performance. The "Youngest driver to ....." records keep getting broken, most notably the Youngest Driver to become World Champion. Trulli's age might not hold him back too much (Fangio won his fifth Championship at the age of 46!) but it's certainly a contributing factor to decreased performance levels. YOUNGER DRIVERS There are plenty of younger drivers who would deserve a shot at F1, but many don't receive the opportunity because there aren't enough seats. These younger drivers have so much talent but it's wasted on other forms of motorsport. Karun Chandhok is someone who would greatly benefit from another opportunity at F1. If he wants, Trulli can spend a few more years struggling at the back of the grid until he simply isn't driving at the same level as other F1 drivers. If that day should come, Trulli's exit from the sport will be an embarrassing one and his reputation will be tarnished. I think the best move for him is to leave at the end of this season with his dignity still intact. Your thoughts?
Time for him to go. Heikki is giving Lotus the feedback he needs. Trulli is complaining about the power-steering meaning he can't drive the car properly. Give the car to a younger driver, he'll just get around the problem. Can't see Trulli beating Hiekki anytime soon so why should Lotus waste more money with him.
Simple opinion: No The more wiser, older veterans on the grid the better, he still has his legs and the heart of a racing driver, he used to be the pole-master.. He is working Lotus up with Heikki into a glamorous name in Formula 1.. Just because someone gets old doesn't mean they should quit.. in 2009 he was still very fast. I think the situation is, most people are seeing him slower in a back-of-the-pack car which of course is influencing their opinions on him, give him 3 or 4 years, if he can still drive a 220mph car , then he still has time to show the crash-kids some new tricks.
Children behave. Great post Forza. I agree that it's time for Trulli to move on, it really grates on me seeing drivers like Hulkenburg missing out while drivers like Trulli and (sorry Manny) Schumacher are kept on despite offering very little to the team any more. As you mentioned, Kovalainen is experienced enough to lead the team as a senior driver now, and he'd be a decent benchmark to compare a rookie against. With Williams it makes sense to keep Rubens on, he's still a solid driver and his experience is invaluable when you have a young'un in the other car. I feel Mercedes and Lotus would be better served bringing a younger driver into the team though.
I thinks its more the question of will anybody want his services... It'll likely be a decision that's made for him.
There are precious few opportunities for young drivers to break into the sport in the age of no testing. He seems like a nice guy but it really is time for him to let someone else have a go. Not Chandhok, please, but someone with more talent than connections.
Trulli is a legend, he waved at me when I said "good race Jarno" at Silvertone last year, probably the most positive thing he heard all week lol...
The problem jarno has is that heikki is driving better now than he's ever done, which is making him look bad. I'd keep him on though, to help develop next years car.
Well a serious post for the first time ever. Who are Lotus' reserve drivers? Obviously Chandhok but do they have anyone else? I saw Chandhok live at Nurburgring and to be honest I was not impressed (he is much better as a commentator). He barely ever got the corner right (hairpin, turn 7) and I saw him lock up about 500 times and saw him spin up the hill from us. I think a driver from GP2 needs a go instead of Trulli, I dont know the people in GP2 as I dont really watch it. But there was one person in Nurburgring who went from 6th to 1st before he even got to us who I think may need a go in F1 at one point. Trulli needs to go asap as his reputation is going down. Bad.
I think his experience is valuable in a new team like Lotus and the same goes for the take-over of Brawn GP by Mercedes, they need someone who knows the inside of a F1 car like the back of their own hand... Sauber for instance are doing well, but they could do better with an experienced person in place of Perez.
Manny, Trulli's 'experience' has led to him calling the car undriveable as he doesn't like the pwer steering sytem. How can he really be contributing to the team if he can;t drive the car properly? Heikki has just got on with the job in hand, dealt with the issue and has put in some sterling performances. Trulli was always regarded as a quali expert, then mysterioulsy his race performnaces were usually just average. He is not a top line line driver like Schuey, Alonso etc you have been in F1 for donkeys years and proved themselves with their results. I still maintain Trulli brings nothing extra to the team that Heikki cannot provide. They'd be better off saving themselves his salary, hiring a younger dirver and putting the spare cash to developing the car.
I think it is time for him to go, it irks me when older drivers hang on too long and take up seats that could be filled by up and coming drivers such as Hulkenberg. It appears to me that Trulli is certainly past it, he does not seem motivated, he is not quick (compared to Kova anyway), the team does not need his leadership because Kova is experienced and motivated enough to lead the team. I also think it is approaching time for Barrichello to retire as well, and do not get me started on Schumacher (sorry Manny).
Schumacher is sat in his national team, he raced for them in Le mans and also nearly raced for them in Mclaren Mercedes, he has more of a stronger relationship with that team than say Barrichello with Williams. His knowledge is gratefully accepted, and to be honest he is not that far off catching Rosberg this season. His 2nd year is mostly dominated by DNF's and scrapes he puts his car through when pushing hard. We saw in Spain and Montreal what he is capable of, so it is not as if he is constantly being pushed to the back of the grid, he is pushing and keeps on pushing until he is comfortable with the position he is in. He has had some stunning starts this season, Nico has made mistakes running wide and locking up letting people into his position. In fact Schumacher has gained more positions in a race properly than Nico, maybe he has lost some speed, but he has not lost his race craft, for example his overtake on Hamilton in Monaco, his double-overtake on Massa and Kobayashi and his defending skills.. eg, Alonso in China.
I think Nico and Schumi are doing the best they can with the car they have been given. The WO2 is quick on the starts and can challenge the top 3, but after 8 laps it just goes backwards since they can't contain the rapid tyre degradation. This is just a starter for the real thing next year, I smell something better then the 2010 season and Nico's first win.
Yes, Manny, I agree with you: Schumacher is an exceptional case, and an exceptional figure in the history of F1, even though his reputation is not good for everybody. There's another thread asking who's the most complete driver on the grid. Schumacher doesn't really figure in it but, IMO, he is the only true 'Great' driving today; the others are still trying to get there. As for Barrichello, yes, I think the time to go is approaching for him but I think he'll want to complete 20 years on the grid. Drivers tend to be keen on their stats, don't they?
Brawn has claimed they have something in the bag of tricks for next year. "Both drivers may have to wait until 2012 for an excellent car". It would be fantastic to see them drive off into the distance fighting each other for a win. For me the races in 2011 that have highlighted Mercedes, was China-Spain-Montreal, and Hungary with Schumacher and Rosberg blasting past both Ferrari's. and Schumacher leading part of the lap, sent shivers down my spine.
Schumacher has no future and if it was not for his first career then he would of been sacked by Mercedes by now. I do not think that past achievements or relationships should have a bearing on him driving for Mercedes now, he should have it on current merit and as I see it the present Schumacher should not qualify for the seat. Schumacher does bring experience and technical expertise but the Mercedes car last season was very disappointing which I am willing to forgive because Brawn in 2009 did not have much money to develop it. However this season there is no excuse, they had plenty of funding and they gave up halfway through last year to focus on it and it still disappointed and they have not really made any meaningful inroads developing it. So is Schumacher earning his seat through helping the team develop a race winning car? I would say no he is not. So if Schumacher is not justifying his seat through his experience and technical expertise that leaves performance. I will write of his dismal first year back as him getting used to F1 again and how it has changed after his time out of the sport. However this year there has been a smidgen of improvement but that is pretty much it. Rosberg has outqualified him 10-1 and the one time when Schumacher did outqualify him was when Rosberg had the shunt at Monaco in free practice. In terms of race head to head where it really matters Rosberg leads that 8-3 which is pretty conclusive. Yes Schumacher has had the odd good performance but for me they have been far outweighed by the disappointing performances where he has had too much contact with his fellow drivers and at times looked a bit out of place. I suppose Schumacher will help bring in a bit of money and a lot of media coverage but is that what you want to see the great Michael Schumacher brought down to, a pay driver? My personal opinion is that he should just retire at the end of the season because he is taking up a good seat that is not going to benefit him but just allow him to play out his retirement holiday while it could be given to a driver such as di Resta or Hulkenberg in which they could use it to benefit and develop their careers.
