Approachable as usual, I had the opportunity to catch up in London with Jarno, a humble and genuine lad who has never been carried away by his success.

Let’s talk about the race at Interlagos, with Mercedes clinching  their fifth Constructors’ title.

I believed It was very hard anyway for Ferrari to win the last two races. In Brazil they struggled even more although they seemed very competitive from what I saw on Saturday. It was a pity but I think the incident of Verstappen made the race very interesting. Max should have won the race, the crash with Ocon was really undeserved. Hamilton took advantage of it.

What is your opinion about the dynamic of that crash?

The 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix will be remembered because of that accident. I still cannot believe how Ocon could make such a mistake. Of course what happened off the track is a different story. Verstappen had the right to be upset but he does not have any excuses for his behaviour. You cannot harass another driver and you must resolve controversies in different places and different ways,  possibly away from cameras. In the past you could see this sort of things but nowadays such reactions are no longer acceptable and this is the way it should be.

Ahead of the Brazilian weekend, Fernando Alonso has announced he will be racing the 2019 Indy 500 as he seeks triple crown.

Fernando has substantially ended his career in F1 and wants to return to Indy 500 following his deserved victory at Le Mans. He did a great job the first time he raced the Indy until experiencing that engine failure. However the Indy 500 is a single race, what will he do after that? That’s is a big question mark…

Indy is a very interesting championship. Aerodynamically speaking it is more rough than F1, however drivers are more protagonists. Do you reckon this can be one of the reasons why some F1 drivers look for new professional experiences?

Indy is very different from F1. It is a more reachable series for private teams. It is a different world, but its level is definitely lower than F1. Fernando is 37 years old and was kind of forced to look somewhere else because he cannot find a better seat in F1.  

Talking about different series, you raced in Formula E for almost two seasons starting your adventure with Michela Cerruti. The electric championship has been attracting many drivers and constructors. Further more, Italy has been playing a great part if we consider the partnership with Enel and the entrance of Brembo, which will supply their braking system after closing a 3-year (+1) deal. Is this trend reflecting somehow the path Motorsport is currently undertaking?

Formula E has taken the right direction however the battery and its management remain the championship’s biggest challenge for the future. There is a very intense work in R&D and racing for only one day could be frustrating. Sportswise this could also represent a strong limitation in terms of making Formula E a great media event.  Battery still remains the biggest issue and still rules the format structure because of its technical limitations.

Can we say that electric vehicles are the future?

Well, electric cars will be very important in urban centres for sure but only for limited mileage contexts. Hybrid will still be the solution for the future.

Let’s talks a bit more about Jarno Trulli. After 15 years as a F1 driver you have a very busy life as an entrepreneur as well as a F1 pundit.

My job as wine producer keeps me very busy and so does my family. It is an activity I had started since racing in Formula 1. Now we are a well established firm which exports wine around the world. I travel quite a lot for attending events and exploring new markets.

I understand you are also a very busy dad,  your son Enzo is racing in Karting and you are coaching him. Is it right?

This is definitely another part of my life that keeps me often away from home during weekends. Recently I met Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa and Juan Pablo Montoya during kart races. I meet Juan Pablo very often because his son is racing with Enzo. However it is always difficult to do a proper catch up with my former colleagues, we are always too busy following our sons.

Do you miss Formula 1?

Honestly I don’t. I raced for so many years and I did everything I had to dowhen the time was right. Now I have other priorities. Producing wine is today my pole position.



Editor : Emiliano Savini - @EmilianoSavini