Trulli encouraged by Toyota's progress

Toyota's season started disastrously in Bahrain as they suffered from an inability to generate heat into their tyres, but a better understanding of the situation has improved fortunes over recent races.

Although Trulli has failed to score points in the first three races of the year, after accidents in Malaysia and Australia, the team have looked increasingly competitive with each outing.

"It's been quite positive," said Trulli about the progress the team have made. "The problem is not so much the car as making the car work with the tyres.

"In Bahrain the track temperature was lower than expected and we were not generating enough heat to get the tyres into their operating window. When that happens you just don't get any grip but you can't really say that it's the car. It's a combination."

Speaking about the positive impact of Schumacher's podium, which was not enough to save the job of the team's technical director Mike Gascoyne, Trulli explained: "I was delighted for the race team guys and everybody back at the factory after they all put so much effort into the winter programme.

"We started poorly in Bahrain for the reasons I've already explained, and while nobody thought that was representative of our true level, it is always nice to put in a performance and prove the car's capability.

"The target was to challenge for a win this year and Ralf getting a podium was the first step towards that. I was much happier with our pace in Melbourne and it is a good boost for the whole team as we head into the European season."

Trulli is also confident that the increased amount of testing his team can do now that the first three flyaway races are over should enable them to get on top of their problems quicker.

"The first three races can be quite difficult because you are a long way away and it is difficult to make progress with the car. Having said that, we did productive Bridgestone work and we now have a three-week gap before Imola.

"That will give us the opportunity to do two more tests and confirm our findings from Melbourne because we also expect to have relatively low track temperatures in the next two races at Imola and Nurburgring."