Although his cause was aided by the first corner incident, Trulli still picked his way through the field and ran a competitive pace with those in front, despite carrying one-stop worth of fuel. It was a strategy that paid off, with Trulli only just missing out on a podium.
The result has buoyed both Trulli and the team with the Italian hoping for a hat-trick of points finishes on a circuit he has performed well on in the past, including a fourth place in 2004 and a fifth with
Toyota last year.
"I have very good memories of Magny-Cours and I always enjoy visiting France. French is one of the languages that I speak because of all the time that I have spent working for French teams in
Formula One," Trulli, who has jumped up to 11th in the standings, said. "That means I have a good relationship with the French fans and I expect to have lots of support in the grandstands."
Although overshadowed by his on form team-mate in recent races,
Ralf Schumacher is another who enjoys the annual foray to France, particularly as he has failed to score at Magny-Cours just once in nine attempts, including a win in 2003.
Its an impressive record Schumacher is determined to maintain as he bids to claim his first points since Monaco.
"Magny Cours is a place where I have had success down the years," he noted. "I took my first pole position there five years ago and I also won the event in 2003.
"It is hard to know how we will perform next weekend though but our car has shown it is quick in recent races so we will hope for more next Sunday."
"After our visits to Montreal and Indianapolis, two circuits at the lower end of the downforce range, the French Grand Prix marks a return to higher downforce levels," he continued.
"There is nothing particularly challenging about the Magny-Cours track from a driving perspective but it does feature extremely smooth asphalt. That leads to a less bumpy ride for the drivers but it also means that the performance of the track can vary a lot depending on the weather and track temperature.
Williams F1 - Mark Webber (#9), Nico Rosberg (#10):
Another race that left them scratching their heads, Williams Cosworth come back to Europe searching for answers as to why their pace has dropped again, to the point that they have now slipped to eighth in the constructors' standings behind Toyota and
Red Bull.
