Looks like Ferrari domination, says Jarno...

Jarno Trulli believes it is unrealistic to expect his Toyota team to be able to fight for podium finishes in the 2008 season.

"Let's make this clear: in this situation, not only the Ferraris will be unmatchable for us, but also the McLarens," Trulli was quoted as saying by Autosprint magazine.

"So, talking about getting some podiums is completely unrealistic," added the Italian, who still believes Toyota are in a better position than last year.

"Compared to 2007 the car has improved a lot in overall reliability and in the performance on worn tyres, which had been our main problem," he said.

"Considering the problems BMW seem to suffer, maybe for us there's the chance of getting close to the second level teams like Renault, BMW and Williams, but it's impossible to do more than that.

"Looking at the behaviour of the Ferraris on the track is obviously depressing. They can brake wherever they want to but most of all they can accelerate wherever they want to, while I always have to be careful with getting on the power, which is not managed by traction control anymore."

Toyota endured a poor season in 2007 and have not been on the podium since 2006.

The Cologne-based squad and Ferrari spent six days of testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain last week, and the Japanese cars were no match for their Italian rivals, clearly faster during most days.

Trulli reckons Ferrari are clearly ahead of all their rivals.

"In my opinion, even compared to McLaren, they are at least half a second faster per lap. Good night then, I feel the championship is already over even before the start," Trulli said.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/65106

Interesting to hear the specific differences between the Ferrari and Toyota.

 

SWEEEEET!

 

I just read the samething, I think Ferrari will nail it this year as well, I don't think McLaren is going to give them the same problems like they did last year.

 

If it is the case that Ferrari are in a league of their own I think it's a bit depressing. For me F1 has never been enjoyable to watch when it's a procession rather than a race, even if Ferrari is heading the procession.

 

According to some this will simply mean the season will be an epic battle between Kimi and Massa as Prost used to battle Senna in the McLaren.

 

That would certainly be better than a procession, but somehow I don't see it happening.

 

depends on what you mean by 'battle'

 

True that. For me it much better to see season like 2003 and 2007, than 2004 for example.

 

A similar season to the last one without the spying and of track antic's will do me..

Oh yeh I want HONDA to step it up and BMW and RENAULT to mix it with Mc and Ferrari.

 

A little reminder of how good those epic battles were..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jndde98qnIM&feature=related

 

It's great to see Ferrari win, but a bit of racing is much more exciting. Hopefully there will at least be some good racing in the middle of the pack with Alonso and his Renault.

 

Trulli is obviously disgruntled and emotional following a direct comparison with Ferrari in the test. I wouldn't count ol' Louise Hamilton and BMW and even Renault out of it just yet.

 

McLaren will not be allowed to be competitive ... Ferrari will win ever race at a canter. Many thousands will turn off F1 for good and Bernie will be forced into making even more stupid rule changes to try and bring new people in .

What people do not get through their thick heads is McLaren made Ferrari as great as they are because McLaren and just about only McLaren pushed them hard enough. Other than Renault occassionally the rest of the teams are utter rubbish. Also McLaren is the second oldest team so there's heritege ... so the long term effect of all of a suddenly trying to make F1 ethical and free of cheats neutered the very thing that made it almost interesting, ie. the chance of a race. Brilliant Max, just brilliant ...
Pete

 

He will be battling Massa for 6th...

 

you're right. with an exception here or there, it's been McLaren being the adversary. looking forward to the day where 3 or 4 teams duke it out for the titles...but probably not anytime soon if ever...

 

ouch

 

You're forgetting the wild card: the ECUs. (Would you like to reboot your engine now?)

 

I can´t understand all this hype.

The Ferraris were faster than the Toyotas, OK, they would be in trouble if they can´t beat Toyota, but they weren´t way faster than the McLaren when they run together a few weeks ago in Spain, and even the Renaults were not too far.

Oh, and they still have reliability issues.

 

Why? The spy scandal thing is over, MCL has paid, life goes on.

Blame MCL, they cheated in the first place. If they had played fair, nothing would have happened.

"Being faster" is not just "yes or no", I guess Jarno is talking about how fast the Ferrari are. Of course beating Toyota shouldn't be that hard, but it is a big difference if they beat them by 0.1 seconds, the car having just a few drops of fuel and the driver struggling to keep the car on the road, being completely exhausted after 2 laps, or by 1 second in full race trim with swift and clean driving. I guess it's the latter, otherwise Jarno wouldn't be so impressed.

 

Never underestimate a Renault team with Alonso and other teams like McLaren, Williams and even BMW. It is a long season, anything can happen, especially when it hasn't even started yet. Again, Winter GP is worthless and does not win you anything.

 

If Trulli is right, were in for a 2002 or 2004-like season, and how much I like to see Ferrari win, I prefer a 2007 like season in which Ferrari has to battle hard in order to emerge on top in the final race.

 

As much as I cannot stand Alonso, he is a true racer and has unbelievable talent. Even though testing doesn't mean much, look at what he's done since going back. He has led a couple days and is always near the top of the sheats. Neither of the Renaults even looked remotely decent in testing before last season.

I do believe the Ferraris are in a class of their own this season, but I wouldn't completely count out Lewis and Alonso just yet. Oh and by the way....Massa 2008 Drivers Champ!!!!!

Mark

PS: None of the Senna's go nuts please; I am only stating what I'd like to see happen, not what will definitely happen.

 

I like the battles to be for 3rd.

F1 is boring racing, it can't be anything but the way the cars are designed - they can't bump, they can't even run close to each other, so I at least like to see ferrari win.

 

http://www.topgear.com/blogs/motorsport/096-yours-trulli/

Comments? Opinions?

 

Trulli: The title already belongs to Ferrari
Thursday 14th February 2008

Having watched Ferrari during the pre-season tests, Jarno Trulli reckons the Italian stable already has this year's World titles in the bag.


Ferrari's F2008 has impressed during the pre-season tests, often proving to be the fastest car in the field and with one of the better reliability records.


During the recent tests at Bahrain, where Ferrari and Toyota were in action for six days, the F2008 dominated the timesheets as Toyota's TF108 failed to even once be the quicker of the two cars.


In fact on most days the TF108 was over a second off the pace of Ferrari's 2008 challenger.


And it's those impressive Bahrain performances that have led Trulli to predict that Ferrari will once again make a clean sweep of the World titles this season.


"In my opinion they are at least half a second faster per lap, even with respect to McLarens," he told Autosprint magazine. "The Championship already looks over to me before it has started."


The 33-year-old believes a large part of Ferrari's superiority is based on how the Italian stable has been able to adjust to the new ban on traction control.


"When you watch Ferrari's performance on the track your arms drop. They brake where they want but, above all, they accelerate where they want, when I always have to be careful giving power, which is no longer managed by traction control," he said.


"It's true that aerodynamic efficiency is even more crucial in Bahrain than at Jerez or Valencia because of the numerous fast bends. The asphalt gives better grip but Ferrari's superiority is disconcerting."

FORZA FERRARI

May the horse be with you.