Jarno Trulli's career in Formula One has been characterised by his brilliant qualifying performances and by a nearly record breaking amount of retirements. That hasn't changed this year, and despite having outqualified Jenson Button six times in nine races is the Briton who is in front in the standings. Graham Holliday reviews Trulli's year and analyses what's in store for the unlucky Italian

Throughout his five and a half years in Formula One Jarno Trulli has garnered an enviable reputation for qualifying lacklustre cars in positions alien to them. He has also mastered the art of parking broken cars around most circuits on the Formula One tour. With difficulty, in 2002 he has mantained his reputation by outqalifying fellow Renault driver and on form man Jenson Button six times in nine races, but his luck with the machinery remains much the same. Through it all, the Italians faith in himself and the trust he has in his management and in his team remain undiminished.

Jenson and Jarno first began their ongoing relationship with a series of collisions which kicked off at the tail end of the 2000 season. At the time, Trulli called the Englishman an "idiot" for trying to outbrake him at the United States Grand Prix. A similar thing happened in Monza just over a year later when Jenson shunted Jarno off at the first corner after the Italian had qualified in a season best 11th spot. It was with some trepidation that the public awaited the success or otherwise of their future partnership for the newly badged Renault team at the start of 2002.

Jarno had expected more from his two-year stint at Jordan than just becoming a recognised qualifying master. In 2001 he obliterated his Jordan teammates; Heinz-Harald Frentzen only outqualified him once in ten races and his replacement Jean Alesi produced the same statistic from his last five Formula One races for the team. However, raceday was another story and the reliability of the car all too often let him down.

Many pundits thought signing up with the French team would bolster his image and underscore his speed in the expectation that he would outperform a below par Button. However, Button came out of the 2002 blocks flying and with something to prove and he has scored the majority of the points for Renault. However, in the last three races at Monaco, Montreal and at the European Grand Prix, Trulli regained his form and had the upper hand on the Briton at every circuit. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top this weekend at Silverstone as Jenson's seat for 2003 comes under the spotlight at this, his home race.

Despite a levelling out of performance between the two Renault boys at the midpoint of the year, the silly season has yet to go silly over Trulli. Jarno is contracted to the Renault team for one more year, and in what some might see as a conflict of interests for Renault, it is boss Flavio Briatore who handles his management dealings along with the management of Renault test driver and race driver wannabe Fernando Alonso. Admittedly Button is still under contract to the Williams-BMW team, which gave him his first chance in Formula One in 2000, and he was only ever 'loaned out' by Sir Frank.

However, on paper it is hard to justify getting rid of an on form racer like Jenson. Trulli's absence from the silly season so far has caused some to question the motives of his flamboyant boss. While Button looks like being palmed off to Jaguar, BAR or Toyota it is the arguably somewhat 'underperforming' Trulli who looks set to stay.

The 28-year old is starting to come good despite a tide of Renault reliability problems. Jenson has had his fair share of difficulties too, but the brunt of the radical 'wide vee angle' engines tantrums have been directed at the Italian's car. "Intermittent engine faults," as Pat Symonds, executive director of engineering, calls them, still plague the team as they enter the halfway stage of their second year developing the unit. With the new engine regulations set to transform engine design and endurance for 2004 there are those that reckon the 'wide vee angle' has had its day before it has actually had its day.

More power is promised from the new design which is scheduled to commence factory testing this October, although Symonds admits that the engineering direction has cost them dearly, "We have paid a lot for that on difficulties and we still have some difficulties." Whether or not future race weekend engine regulations will cover two or three days is still unclear. A three-day weekend with one engine is unlikely to help Renault past the finish post for the first part of 2004.

Not that reliability problems are something that get Trulli down, he has been used to it for so long with the extinct Prost team and then with Jordan. "I just forget what happened before and every weekend hope that it's going to be alright. That's why I look so strong at every race - because I have had bad luck before," he said of his time at Jordan just before the 2001 French Grand Prix. "It's always disappointing when you can't finish races, especially when you are in the points. But that is racing."

There's little doubt with Renault's budget and pedigree that they will eventually get it right. For Trulli, it just depends when they get it right. Cynics might see Briatore trying to prime the team with 'his boys' before the Renault package becomes a regular competitor on the front row, but with the proposed new engine regulations it could be 2005 before the results come on stream and Trulli might not be around to reap the rewards by then.

Alonso is Briatore's great white hope and it is he who is being nurtured to take Renault to the next stage. Trulli would do well to make his mark next season alongside whoever else eventually ends up partnering him while keeping an eye on the rest of the paddock for available seats come 2004. Briatore, like Tom Walkinshaw is not averse to abruptly ending relationships to further other goals.

The immediate future of the Renault driver line-up should be decided later this month as Briatore said at the Nurburgring, "From the beginning of the season we have said we decide in July after Silverstone." Only then will Trulli know who he is up against for the coming year.

"Probably when I first signed for Renault no one could believe it because the team wasn't performing really, really well but just after I signed, they proved that things were moving on," Trulli said soon after he signed up with the French team last year.

"They improved the car, they are getting better and better and this makes me feel very happy, not only because I will be driving for them, but also it means that I've been looking very deeply in what they've been doing, and I trust them."

Trust and Formula One are uncomfortable bed fellows, only if Trulli can improve as he has done over the last three races can he begin to cement his 'trust' in Renault.