Jarno Trulli has predicted that he will win his first grand prix for Toyota next season.
Italian has good feeling about next season
Jarno Trulli has predicted that he will win his first grand prix for Toyota next season.
The Italian veteran has one Formula One victory to his name - Trulli winning the Monaco Grand Prix for Renault in 2004.
He joined Toyota shortly thereafter and made a strong start to the following season with three podium finishes in the opening five races of 2005.
However, the team fell off the pace during the following two seasons, before 2008 finally saw them move back up the pecking order.
They finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship and Trulli picked up his first podium finish in three season after finishing third in the French Grand Prix.
Taking encouragement from Toyota's 2008 campaign, Trulli said he believed next season will bring the big breakthrough.
"I can feel it: 2009 will be the year of my first victory with Toyota," the 34-year-old told
Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Mine is a challenge inside a challenge, with the car manufacturing giant seriously investing in F1 to demonstrate its great technology and potential.
"I can't say anything about the car yet, but I know there will be some very interesting new things."
Hard-fought racing
Next season will see the re-introduction of slick tyres as well as aerodynamic changes designed to lower downforce and allow cars to follow each other more closely.
Both changes, together with the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), are intended to increase the possibility of overtaking.
However, despite his prediction, Trulli refused to say whether any victory might come as a result of Toyota's ability to better exploit the rule changes.
"With the new regulations the cars aren't particularly pretty, but in theory they should make for more hard-fought racing, with the possibility of following a rival from close behind and launching an attack," he added.
"At the moment, however, only the engineers can express a judgement, while we'll have to wait."
