Jarno Trulli Crashes Lotus T128, Ends Barcelona Testing

The 4-day test at Circuit de Catalunya ended earlier than scheduled on Monday afternoon for Team Lotus, after F1 veteran Jarno Trulli lost control of his T128 challenger and hit the wall at the exit of the Campsa corner. Needless to say, the incident caused a read flag, but shortly after all the debris was cleared from that section testing resumed on the Spanish track.

“Unfortunately the day was cut short due to the accident,” said a disappointed chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne after Trulli's crash. He also made it very clear that this was not a driving error from the Italian racer, but had something to do with a mechanical failure experienced by the T128. According to Autosport, after the car was removed from the premises by the crane, oil was seen on the track.

“It was not his fault - it was caused by a car failure. We are missing a part we need to put the car back together, which meant we had to cut day four short,” further announced Gascoyne, confirming the end of his team's European testing programme.

However, the Team Lotus boss insisted that he is pleased with what he saw of the Lotus T128 this week and that this latest issue will not overshadow the impressive progress made by the car in recent weeks.

Jarno Trulli also played down reliability fears for the Lotus T128, emphasizing the fact that his team is continuing the strong progress it showed ever since the start of the Barcelona meeting.

“It's obviously disappointing to have the test cut short like this, but these things happen in motor racing. We started the day well and until the accident happened I had picked up where I left off yesterday,” he said, after recently praising the pace of his Lotus car on Sunday.

“The car has good balance, pace we can build on and has the potential to help us take the fight to the midfield, so I'm leaving here feeling confident about the season ahead and am looking forward to the next test, wherever that will be.”