By Nick Sparkes
June 29 2006

For Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli this weekends American Grand Prix has plenty of mixed memories from the past. Ralf has crashed at the notorious Turn 13 twice in the past two years whilst Jarno took the teams first ever pole last year. Although Ralf never got a chance to compete in last years race after his frightening Practice crash at Turn 13, the fiasco that followed gave Formula One the biggest mountain to climb in as many years. Ralf is hoping the fans will forgive them for what happened, and the reasons for why it happened. "Of course I have mixed memories of Indianapolis, not least from last year. It was a tough decision for the teams not to race and it was particularly hard on the fans who had traveled to see the event. But it was the right decision because it was clearly unsafe to race and the safety of the drivers has to come first. It's in the nature of a racing driver to want to race but I hope the fans will understand that it was just impossible last year.”

The German was full of praise for the organizers as the track has to be altered from its oval layout and is looking forward to this weekend. “Now we just have to hope that we have a trouble-free race this time so that the American public can look forward to seeing Formula 1 as it really is. The organisers have done a good job with the circuit at the Speedway and the challenge is to set up the car for good speed along the oval section while retaining stability through the twisty infield. The atmosphere is usually great at Indianapolis and I hope it will be similar again this year."

Like Ralf, the impression left of Formula One from last years American Grand Prix still gives Jarno a need to apologies for what happened. He too regrets what happened, even if he was starting from pole position. "Last year's US Grand Prix was an unfortunate weekend, and I was most sorry for the spectators who had come to the event. But we had no choice on race day because the risk to the drivers was too big. Of course it was hard to step out of the car but even though I was on pole, I would not have wanted to race under those conditions. Now we will just hope for a better weekend for everyone concerned this time.”

Jarno also spoke about the track, which he enjoys, and hopes to carry on from his sixth place he earned in the last race in Canada. “Indianapolis is a special venue and I enjoy the atmosphere both at the circuit and in the town because the people are so friendly. It has not been a very lucky season so far for me but we have definitely improved our performance as the season has gone on and the points in Canada were very welcome. I'm really looking forward to finishing the year well and I think I've earned the right to a change of fortune.”