Trulli has lucky escape at Jerez

The new Toyota signing, who had crashed on Tuesday after suffering a high-speed puncture, detected something was wrong with his car on the entry to the Jerez chicane. He opted not to take the corner and went straight on - slowing the car down just as his rear wing fell off.

As he continued to bring the car under control Trulli's problems were further compounded when the right rear wheel also fell off - leaving him stranded in a gravel trap. Had the failures taken place at full racing speed then the consequences could have been much worse.

Toyota began repairing the damaged car on Wednesday afternoon and the cause of wing and wheel problems is believed to be related to an issue with the rear suspension. It is hoped that Trulli can run the car again for at least one installation lap later in the afternoon before resuming a full programme on Thursday morning.

Trulli's two accidents have come after two lucky escapes for Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer. The Italian plunged into the barriers on Tuesday morning after suffering rear brake failure, and crashed off the track on Wednesday morning when he made a mistake at the first corner.