Problems Mar V8s Debut at Jerez

It was the first time the new 2.4-litre units from the Japanese and German carmakers were tested on track, with Olivier Panis doing the driving for Toyota while Antonio Pizzonia drove the BMW-powered Williams car.

Both men, however, were hit by problems early on, with Panis managing just 22 laps before suffering a pressure loss. The Frenchman was forced to abandon work before the lunch break.

"It is just so different," Panis told Autosport-Atlas at the end of the day. "You just expect more power to come after a while. First and second [gears] it is okay but after that there is no more, it is so different."

Panis set a best time of 1:22.422 with the Toyota, nearly three seconds off the pace of the closest of the rivals running with the V10 engines.

The team, however, were pleased with their initial progress.

"This is first time we have run the car in a test," said Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne. "We've not even shaken it down, and so far it is good.

"The vibration is a lot less than what we have expected. We had more vibration problems on the test bench than here and so far it is running without problem. We will have a V8 car in every test from now and we will have to see how the progress is.

"At the moment we installed the engine in this year's car with a spacer between the engine and gearbox, so once it is the new car the installation will be completely different. This is just to get a general idea of the problem."

The Williams team had a more frustrating day, however.

After having finished working at 2am on the previous night to fit the engine to the current car, the team saw Pizzonia cover just four laps before he succumbed to problems with the BMW unit.

Pizzonia then covered a few more laps at the wheel of the car fitted with the V10 engine, replacing teammate Nico Rosberg after the Finn felt unwell.

Pizzonia finished over eight seconds behind Panis.