Ralf: Ferrari not strongest

Although Ferrari itself is keeping a brave face on its current form, having claimed that at this stage last year it was not setting sensational lap times, there is a growing feeling that the new 2005 cars may have the edge over Ferrari's modified F2004M.

And that is why Ralf Schumacher believes Ferrari may only be the third fastest team in F1 at the moment - ahead of Williams, BAR and his own Toyota outfit.

Speaking exclusively to autosport.com, Schumacher said: "It is pretty clear the strongest at the moment is Renault, and Mclaren. Renault is slightly ahead of McLaren, let's see how that develops, then comes Ferrari - although they do look strong in the long runs.

"I think then it is Williams and BAR, then ourselves. We should not be far away from them and I expect us to be relatively close to BAR."

Toyota's pre-season testing has been characterised by hugely impressive reliability but an overall lack of pace - although some of that should be cured by a new aerodynamic package that is due to make its debut on the car next week in Barcelona.