Tost hopeful of big step forward in '07

With the team using a development version of Red Bull Racing's RB3, as well as having secured a deal for Ferrari customer engines, team principal Franz Tost is bullish that they can improve on their ninth place finish in last year's constructors' championship.

"We are quite optimistic," he said at the launch of the team's new STR02. "I think we can make a step forward with the new car and the new engine. We have one very experienced driver and the second we will see.

"Therefore it is becoming better and better and we expect a quite successful season."

But despite being confident of a step forward, Tost believes it would take until the Bahrain tests in the next few weeks to get a full understanding of exactly how competitive they can be.

"It's difficult to say at this stage," he explained. "We are not out in testing, we are starting today, and so we have to see where we end up.

"We don't know the car at all. We start testing tomorrow and then we go to Bahrain. And in the second Bahrain test we should have the second car."