Toyota pairing working well

Eyebrows were raised in the paddock when the driver pairing was announced last year, but Gascoyne has told autosport.com that, as far as he is concerned, the team has made the right choice. "They are both professional drivers, they know what they are doing, and they push the team," he noted. "The result overall has been pretty good. The guys all know, with Ralf and Jarno, they have to be on top of everything.

"Some of the issues we had, You can see that the mechanics are pissed off when they can't get the cars ready for Ralf and Jarno, I think the expectations internally have gone up in the whole operation. That can only be good."

When asked to point to their strengths, Gascoyne was his usual ebullient self, noting: "Ralf can be quite pushy, but actually he is a quite sensitive bloke, very aware of having to push people without upsetting them. In fact he is very aware of 800 people working hard, so he knows pissing them off doesn't get you anywhere."

With regard to Trulli, Gascoyne advised: "Jarno has become a much more self-confident guy. He used to beat himself up a lot if things didn't work out in his way, but especially with his first victory, and his family life [Trulli married long time girlfriend Barbara late last year], he is a more self confident individual.

"Definitely they are both quick - they are at the peak of their careers. Both are race winners - the thing is they have not done so consistently, but it may be that they have not had an environment to do so."

Acknowledging his role in the choice of drivers, Gascoyne is elated with how the combination is gelling already. He sees the pairing improving once the team arrives in Melbourne, noting: "Trulli is one of the quickest guys over one lap, so he will push Ralf, whereas Ralf is always good in the race and superb in race management, so Jarno has to match that. Ralf was decided early, so when I learned that I pushed for Jarno, as he can push Ralf without winding him up."