Dernie: The man who saved Toyota?

Jarno Trulli acknowledged that the presence of Frank Dernie as an advisor for the Toyota team had borne fruit at the start of the 2008 season.

Dernie, who has been in the F1 industry for three decades with teams such as Lotus, Benetton, Arrows, Lola, or Williams, joined Toyota last season as a senior advisor.

The Japanese team had a very good start to the 2008 season as Trulli finished fourth and sixth in the last two races in Malaysia and Bahrain.

« Frank is one of the people who has contributed the most to the team, but it’s not just one person who can change the situation as a whole, » explained Trulli.

« But Frank is someone remarkable, because he has a lot of experience and he can bring a lot to this team. He can tell you exactly during the race what might happen and what will happen. »

« He really knows where we need to go. And I must say that we share the same feeling about setting up the single-seater and the way of working. So I am very happy. »

Dernie went to Bahrain last weekend, it was the first time this season. Trulli does not believe that the British presence at every race is necessary.

« The team seems, at the moment, to be in a good position, everyone is doing their job, and Frank contributes to the overall achievement of this, » added the Roman.

Finally, Trulli believes that Toyota is moving in the right direction after a few difficult seasons.

« I believe people have heard a lot about what was wrong with the car. I must say that right now, we are heading in the right direction, a direction I have hoped for so much these past months. »

« This is really a good direction, the single-seater seems to be getting faster and offering more performance.

« Last year, when we were in a turn, the car had no balance. Things have changed since then. It is much more enjoyable this season, » he concluded.