And I am sure, he himself also! So far we have got only three races passed.

Now Trulli lies 2nd in the WDC while Toyota is 2nd in the WCC. Only six weeks ago the race was nothing but an evident failure for the team. All the changes happened in the twinkling of an eye. Somehow I still cannot believe it’s true!

Trulli was one of the last drivers to go for the fast lap in Saturday’s qualifying. The air temperature was rising steadily as well as that of the track. It was an extra condition for those who started later to show good seconds. Having set the 2^nd best time (the 3^rd time in a row for the three GP’s!), Trulli went to weigh himself and to cool down. Alonso clocked up a pole, which came as nothing exceptional. Both satisfied with their speed, Jarno and Fernando hugged each other so tight as if two bosom friends had just come together after being apart for ages! Funny! M.Schumacher set the 3^rd time of the day. He didn’t look cheerful at all. Obviously the result was not quite the same as he had expected.

Sunday didn’t bring any coolness, naturally. Minutes were passing; the circuit was warming up as drivers were running their fast laps. Ralf’s perfect pace resulted in the 3^rd absolute time and 5^th aggregated. Schumacher Senior made quite a rough error at the first intermediate… Who knows, he may have missed the possible pole-position. (This could have been his first in 2005!) OK, Jarno’s turn to go. To be honest, all I could follow while he was driving, were the seconds running… The gap was not enough to keep the front row that Sunday… Alonso was next. Pole again.

While waiting for the Spaniard in the boxes Michael and Jarno exchanged a couple of words. Both looked rather puzzled. One could read real sympathy for each other on their faces. And yesterday…...one of the two seemed to be happy. 

Three hours later. The start. Trulli tries to pass the seven times champion on the outside (!) of the corner. He almost has him!.. But then the track turns to the left. Schumi proves on the better trajectory. The Italian prefers to stay behind rather than to bump into Ferrari’s tail as he’s just shut the door. First laps. The three leaders are pulling away. Though Jarno can’t quite maintain the pace of the first couple… The champion makes a mistake…..or he’s just got problems with brakes. Anyway JT gains the second position in the order! The first pit-stop. Nothing changes: as Trulli keeps the gap in front of Webber’s Williams. The second refuel. He rejoins the race second again. Finish. Excellent pace, excellent tactics, excellent car, excellent day! Heartfelt congratulations, Jarno!

Could we really hope for the better start to the season than it was? “When I signed for the team I couldn’t expect to be so quick so early, so I need to thank the team, I need to thank Mike Gascoyne and everyone because they are doing a fantastic job, and the mechanics because it is a great performance and reinforced by the fourth place from Ralf, so both cars are performing very highly.” Podiums are becoming a habit. And as Jarno said, he is “getting tired of this side”. The team eager for a win… The yearning is fairly natural for Toyota which has invested good money into F1. They have made a boost for the last several months. “Let’s put it this way, up to now we have done a fantastic job and I do not see any reason why we cannot carry on like that. I am still very confident. Nevertheless, I have to keep my feet on the ground because it’s too nice at the moment. At the mid-season probably I would say, yeah, we can dream about it and we can dream of a fantastic championship throughout the season, but at the moment we are talking about only three races and the championship is very long.” Well, JT was always noticed for being sober-minded.

The more you have, the more you want. The higher you climb, the more it hurts to fall.

In several days the Big Circus is coming back to its sweet home, that is to Europe. And as far as I know, Toyota is preparing an upgrade of the car for San Marino. They can hardly expect their rivals to give them a gift. Though if Ferrari and Renault (I mean the second Renault driven by Fisichella to be precise) keep on the same track, everything is possible. What will it be in Imola? The only thing we can do is to thank Jarno, Ralf and all the team for performing miracles for us. Enjoy the moment! And get the positive from Panasonic Toyota Racing!

P.S. I should say, TF105 is a beauty indeed, isn’t it?

Little Queenie

Thanks Linda Camper,

 the very first person to read it

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