Trulli Rules Out Winning this Year

Trulli, who left championship leaders Renault last season, started strongly but has seen his podium potential fade away as McLaren, Williams and Ferrari have come back into the frame.

And asked if he could win a race this year he said: "No, I don't think so, we are not able to at the moment and they are moving too fast, they are too strong in terms of car development.

"I don't have to tell the team how to do things, only what the car needs. The team is good, a good atmosphere, everything is fine, and next year maybe we can do well. It all depends on the development of the car.

"But for sure the others have developed quite a lot while our steps were smaller in terms of performance so we are suffering a bit more. I hope that the team can get out of this situation and push harder and give me and Ralf a quicker car.

"At the moment we are losing a bit. It is a bit of experience, most of the advantage comes from aerodynamics and the engine, they are trying hard but they don't seem to be finding a lot at the moment."

But Trulli hinted at one possible performance improvement in the pipeline and added: "I think they have found something quite interesting, but it is something for maybe later in the season, maybe August."

The team have missed out on podiums in the last three races, twice through their failure and once from a Trulli mistake when he damaged his car on the kerbs at Monaco trying to overtake Giancarlo Fisichella.

He has got the better of teammate Ralf Schumacher throughout this season and admitted: "To be honest I thought it would be a difficult season. So far it has been pretty good for me, in terms of performance.

"It has been pretty bad in terms of results because I have lost a lot of podiums when they were done. This doesn't make me feel very happy but I am performing well as a driver, very strong, and at the end of the day this is my job.

"I am the kind of driver who improves over the year. I am not an instinctive driver, I develop talents through the season, through the years, and I really believe every year I learn something and get back in the car stronger than before."