Trulli hoping to come good

Jarno Trulli is hoping for a solid result at his home race in Italy, confident that Toyota are heading in the right direction.

After a strong start to the Championship, which saw Toyota challenging for front row grid slots and podium finishes, the team suffered a slump in form, which saw them being overtaken by both Ferrari and McLaren in the Constructors' Championship.

However, there were some signs of improvement last time out in Belgium, where Trulli qualified in second place before his race was undone by a minor coming together with Nick Heidfeld at the start.

The Italian, though, is confident that Toyota have improved and hopes that another step forward will see him in the points at the next race at Monza.

"It is always a great occasion for me to be racing in front of the Italian fans and I really love the atmosphere at Monza. Of course, this is a home race for me so I have a lot of supporters in the grandstands and I really enjoy competing in front of such passionate fans," Trulli said.

"It would mean a lot to me to achieve a strong result in this race and I will be doing everything I can to do that.

Looking strong

"It was very encouraging in Belgium to start on the front row and hopefully this is a sign that we are now able to get the full potential out of the car in qualifying. I was unlucky in the race but I enjoyed the chance to fight at the front and I hope to be able to do that again in Italy.

"Our car looked quite strong at Spa and there will be a few changes for this weekend too; I am sure the competition will be very tight but we have the chance to get back in the points. Monza would be the perfect place to return to form so I am ready for the challenge."

The team heads to Italy with updates for the TF109's front and rear wing, although Pascal Vasselon, Toyota's chassis manager, says their aero package will be the same as Spa's.

"In the past we always prepared a complete specific aerodynamic package for Monza but it is a little different this year," Vasselon said.

"Considering the reduced downforce levels, as well as their proximity on the calendar, we will use a similar package to Spa because these are now the only two tracks requiring significantly reduced drag compared to our baseline configuration.

"As Monza remains the most demanding in terms of top speed we will have updates to our front and rear wings and we expect to be competitive again."