McLaren not writing Toyota off

That is the view of McLaren's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, who is convinced that Toyota's resources will be enough to help them out of their current situation.

Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli could manage no better than 14th and 16th in the season-opener as their TF106 was unable to generate any grip through its Bridgestone tyres.

And although the Japanese car manufacturer admit they are baffled by the situation, Whitmarsh believes it is only a matter of time before the team are back up front.

"Our surprise (about Toyota) came before the season when we realised in testing they weren't quite as competitive as they wanted to be," he explained.

"I know they have been trying very hard on their aero, but you hear all the rumours about how they put a new aero package on their car and went even further backwards.

"They are a very well funded, resourced organisation, and they have the biggest wind-tunnel in F1, so I am sure they going to be working hard to rectify that.

"But after one race I don't think you can write any team off. We just hope to stay ahead of them."