Team Lotus driver not leaving anything to chance in Malaysian GP

KUALA LUMPUR: Jarno Trulli is one of the fittest drivers for his age but he is not leaving anything to chance when it comes to the Petronas Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix this weekend. The 36-year-old Italian, who has ran and completed the Boston Marathon, has been getting his fitness up to the mark since his arrival here last week by joining the Le Tua cycling team on rides up Fraser’s Hill.

Trulli has a reason to be well prepared as possible as he is hoping to put Team Lotus on board the points standings for the first time since they entered F1 last season. And what better way for the Malaysian-backed team, powered by Renault engines this year, to pull it off than at the track in Sepang. Trulli, who finished 13th in the Australian GP two weeks ago, said that he was really fired up for the race this weekend.

“This is our home race and we want to do our best to make the fans proud of us,” said Trulli, who was at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur yesterday to attend a private function together with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. “There will be a lot of support for us in the stands and having been here for a week, I’ve already seen that the level of support has gone up a lot since last year. So whatever happens, it will be a great weekend for us. “Our only target this year is to fight for points. We just need to put everything together and make the package work for us.”

Trulli, who won the 2004 Monaco GP for his only race win in F1 to date, added that he had been kept busy since his arrival here after the season-opening race in Melbourne. “I spent a couple of days up in the Malaysian hills training on my bike with a local pro team and it also gives me an outstanding preparation for what is always a tough weekend in the car,” he said. “Sepang is a very challenging track. It’s technical and it pushes the drivers and the cars very hard but we believe that the package we have can help us have a good weekend in Malaysia. I am really looking forward to seeing how the car responds in the heat.”

Team Lotus were robbed of a better outcome due to a power steering issue and problems with the radiator. But with new parts in place, Trulli is optimistic that they can challenge the midfield grid. “Despite the hard time in Melbourne, the final result was actually very positive as we had a good performance during the race,” he said.

-thestar online.