Trulli plays down Ralf threat

Trulli, who took Toyota's maiden podium finish and pole position during a strong start of 2005, claims that only factors beyond his control allowed his teammate to outscore him.

"Ralf was never ahead of me," Trulli said in an interview with Italian magazine Autosprint. "It was me having problems - like the brakes not working in Canada, the wrong strategy at Silverstone, or Barrichello crashing into me in Hungary."

Trulli claims that Schumacher's pole position in Japan did not mean much because it was "with a glass-worth of fuel" - even though his own pole performance at Indianapolis was likely due to running with an equally low fuel load.

"No, I had fuel in Indy, so much so that in the following race at Magny-Cours I was again among the best," added Trulli.

"Ralf was quicker than me only in the last two races, I admit as much, but there is a reason: he was more at ease than me with the 'B' version of the car.

"There were problems with the front suspension and I couldn't drive it. But I've never thought about Ralf. I aimed at third place in the championship and, one trouble after the next, I saw 30 points disappear in the second half of the season."

Trulli further says that he sees no reason why Toyota cannot deliver their first Formula One victory next season.

"I hope it'll be me giving it to them. As a team we should do it," he added. "[We want to be] at least among the top five in the championship, but if the car gets to the end you can be sure I'll take it up to the front. Very much at the front."