What is a paradiddle? Who won the 1997 German Formula Three championship? How many Grands Prix did motorcycle champion Jarno Saarinen win during his career? Why is Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina nicknamed George? And which river runs through the German city of Cologne? These are just some of the questions we thought Toyota’s Jarno Trulli would take in his stride after he agreed to be the latest participant in our personal trivia test, ‘Ask the Expert’...
Q: You own a vineyard, but can you name the grape variety that your land is predominantly planted with?
Jarno Trulli: Well, our region is very well known for the red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, the white Trebbiano d'Abruzzo and the Cerasuolo Rose, these are the most important wines that we produce. But believe me, we have many other different grapes in our region like Malvasia or Pecorino - they are small grapes and not very well known but fantastic as well!
Correct
Q: If your team mate Timo Glock hadn't made it in motorsport, what would his likely profession be?
JT: I have no idea. I don't know him so well but he is a good, clever and smart guy who could do anything.
Incorrect - Glock has said he would probably work for his father's scaffolding company.
Q: You play drums in a Toyota team members' band, but can you explain to us what a paradiddle is?
JT: Basically we set up this band between Toyota members in order to play some music, stay together and enjoy a bit of free time together. It is a very good way to spend and enjoy time away from racing. But coming back to your question - I have no idea. I have never studied music. I play by instinct.
Incorrect - it’s a four-note pattern in the form of right, left, right, right or left, right, left, left.
Q: You once wore a special pink helmet to commemorate the achievements of cycling friend Danilo di Luca. What year and at which Grand Prix was it? And what race had Di Lilo just won?
JT: He won the Giro in 2007 and the pink helmet was the Canadian Grand Prix.
Correct - De Lilo had won the 2007 Giro d'Italia cycling race.
Q: You won the German Formula Three championship in 1996. Which of your current Formula One rivals inherited your title in 1997?
JT: Nick Heidfeld.
Correct
Q: You are a fan of Audemars Piguet watches. When was the company founded?
JT: Oh! It is difficult to say when the company was founded because Audemars Piguet is a company that is made by two families - by the Audemars family and the Piguet family. They started out not as producers of watches but of mechanisms. At one stage they joined forces to produce a watch. I really cannot remember the year - but it's quite some time ago - something like late 19th century and it's one of the only watch brands that is still owned by the family!
Incorrect - it was actually in 1875, but we think Trulli deserves half a point for his history lesson.
Q: Your parents named you after Grand Prix motorcycle racing champion Jarno Saarinen. How many motorcycle Grand Prix did Saarinen win during his career?
JT: Ah, sorry I don't know.
Incorrect - it was 15.
Q: Your team mate Timo Glock is an avid fan of which unusual sport? And for a bonus point can you name his favourite team?
JT: No idea!
Incorrect - Glock’s a big fan of handball and supports HSV Hamburg.
Q: At the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix you scored your first (and to date only) F1 victory. Which of your current F1 rivals are also still awaiting that elusive second win?
JT: Let me go through the grid. I think Kovalainen is one! Webber never, Piquet never, Williams drivers never, Red Bull - none of them. Give me a clue!
One point from a possible two - McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen (won Hungary, 2008) and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica (Canada, 2008).
Q: In 2000 you completed the New York Marathon. Can you name any one of the three Italians who have won the race?
JT: No, sorry.
Incorrect - Orlando Pizzolato in 1984 and 1985; Gianni Poli in 1986; Giacomo Leone in 1996.
Q: Your first child, Enzo, was born in April 2005, but which of your fellow F1 drivers also became a father that same week?
JT: I should be right: it's Juan Pablo Montoya.
Correct - Montoya's wife Connie gave birth to Sebastian.
Q: Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina has the nickname George. Which George is he named after and how did the nickname come about?
JT: He got his nickname when he was in the USA but I don't remember the story behind it.
Half a point - apparently he is named after President George Bush. Back in 2001 when Yamashina arrived in the United States to take up a new post as president of Toyota's Technical Centre USA, his new colleagues struggled to pronounce his name, so he ended up instead being known as George, after the then US President.
Q: Although Toyota's Formula One programme only began in 2002, the Japanese company has enjoyed a long racing presence. In what year did the brand enjoy its first motorsport win?
JT: I don't know.
Incorrect - It came in 1975 at the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, when Hannu Mikkola and his co-driver Atso Aho won in a Toyota Corolla.
Q: In 2008 team manager Richard Cregan left Toyota for a new position. What is Cregan's new job?
JT: He became manager of the Abu Dhabi race track.
Correct - he is indeed team manager of Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management, spearheading preparations for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.
Q: Toyota's factory is based in Cologne. Which river runs through the German city?
JT: I don't know. I'm not really good at geography!
Incorrect - the Rhine.
Q: You won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix. How many safety car periods did the race feature, and which of your former team mates ended his race upside down on Lap Three?
JT: Fisichella and I think we had two safety cars.
Correct - Fisichella’s Sauber rolled after he ran into the rear of David Coulthard's McLaren.
Q: In 1996 you participated in the prestigious F3 Marlboro Masters race at Zandvoort. Two other drivers on the grid that day also went on to become major Formula One stars. Can you name them?
JT: Montoya and Nick Heidfeld
Correct - Heidfeld finished third and Montoya was fourth. Trulli was 19th.
Q: You spent two seasons with the Prost team, scoring eight points in total. How many points did the team score on their F1 debut at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix?
JT: In ‘97 I was not with Prost so I have no idea.
Incorrect - two, after Olivier Panis finished fifth.
Q: Your first front-row grid slot came at the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix. Who was on pole and who won the race?
JT: Michael Schumacher was on pole and I was second by one tenth - but neither of us finished, and if I remember rightly, Coulthard won.
Correct - Schumacher retired on lap 56, leaving Coulthard to win for McLaren.
Q: You were born in Pescara, which in 1957 hosted a round of the Formula One world championship. The circuit was the longest ever used in F1. To the nearest minute, what was Stirling Moss's fastest lap time?
JT: I don't know. But let's see if I can calculate something. Alora, given the length of the track my guess is 15 minutes? What, only 9 minutes 44? Ah, I remember there was an 8-kilometre long straight.
Incorrect - 9 minutes 44.6 seconds. The circuit was 25.579km long.
Final score: 15 points from a possible 26
Ask the Expert rating: 58%
Current leader board:
1. Mark Webber - 84%
2. Sebastien Buemi - 72%
3. Robert Kubica - 70%
4. Jenson Button - 69%
5. Giancarlo Fisichella - 68%
6. Nico Rosberg - 66%
7= Sebastian Vettel - 64%
7= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
9. Jarno Trulli - 58%
10. Nick Heidfeld - 57%
More drivers coming soon.
(From Website : http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/6/9482.html)
14 years ago