Trulli confesses to troubles

Speaking after the end of another far from convincing week's testing at Valencia in Spain, where the car proved fairly quick over a single lap but did not have the overall consistency of its rivals, Trulli confessed to a big problem with the new chassis.

"The car seems quick and competitive, but not over the distance," he told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday. "The problem is excessive rear tyre wear, we have three weeks left and we hope to resolve it."

Although Toyota is due to fit an upgraded aerodynamic package to its car before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Trulli has admitted that he remains concerned about what is causing the problem.

And he goes so far as to claim that the problem with the Toyota reminds him of difficulties he faced at Jordan in 2000 and 2001 - where the chassis's characteristics meant the car was quick over one lap, because it put heat into the rear tyres very quickly, but dropped away in races as the rear tyres wore out too quickly.

"It's definitely not due to the weight distribution," added Trulli. "But we still haven't worked out whether it is an aerodynamic problem or mechanical. After three laps the car becomes more difficult to drive, and in that it reminds me of my old Jordan.

"It's a shame because the car is easy to handle and the problems of engine reliability have been resolved."

Trulli's admission of problems with the Toyota comes after a week when two of the team's rivals confessed that they too had hit trouble. Sauber is understood to have an aerodynamic problem at high speeds, while BAR is suffering from a lack of aerodynamic grip and problems with engine reliability.