McLaren Will be Hard to Beat, Says Trulli

Renault driver Jarno Trulli believes it will be hard for his team to beat McLaren in this year's Championship despite the French squad's strong showing so far.

Renault, who took over from Benetton this year to make their official return as a team this season, have impressed with their pace in the first three races of 2002, and both Trulli and teammate Jenson Button were embroiled in a race-long battle with the McLaren drivers David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen in Brazil two weeks ago.

McLaren are currently in third place in the Constructors' Championship - two points ahead of Renault - and have struggled for pace and reliability so far.

However, Trulli reckons the British team will not be easy to beat despite their slow start.

"At the moment, we can see that Ferrari and Williams are very strong," said Trulli in Thursday's press conference for the San Marino Grand Prix. "We know very well that McLaren can be very strong as it is a very good team. And right behind them we are also doing a good job.

"If we keep developing the car as well as this team did last season, we can probably try to challenge the McLaren, even if it's a bit difficult, but I'm sure we will all try."