Irvine bewildered by Herbert problems

Speaking to The Times on Monday, the Ulsterman expressed his surprise at Herbert's poor start.

"Johnny went well over Winter testing, but at the moment he is not performing as well as he can," said last year's title runner-up.

"He does seem to struggle a bit in qualifying. At the end of last year he was flying, so it is hard to explain.

"If he keeps qualifying 17th or 18th it is not going to do him any good," Irvine added.

However, Irvine is confident in the team and the car, but is anxious that the team tries to extract the maximum potential from the package.

"The engine is competitive, but we are not making the most of it," admitted Irvine. "We need to improve aerodynamically," he explained.

"We have not taken a step back, but the next step forward is enormous and we need to take it soon."

Both Herbert and Irvine will be desperately hoping the team can make that step before the British Grand Prix next weekend, if their target of race wins is to be fulfilled.