Jarno Trulli stands by his recent claim that Ferrari is set to dominate the 2008 season.
The Italian driver, however, has clarified his earlier assertion that, so quick is the F2008, that F1 officials could hand the team the world championship trophy before a single racing lap has been completed.
“Well, I didn’t want to go that far,” he smiled in an interview with El Pais. “The world championship is very long.
“But I do think Ferrari will dominate the start of the season.”
Trulli, who is 33, recently pitted his 2008-specification Toyota against Ferrari’s single seater at the Bahrain tests, and came to the conclusion that no team will match the Italian team’s pace in 2008.
“If you have an advantage of five tenths already at the beginning, and then you continue to build on that, it will be very difficult for the others.”
He has so far delivered a mixed appraisal of Toyota’s new TF108, admitting that struggling among the midfield means it is often difficult to stay motivated.
“Things are not so bad now,” Trulli explained. “The car is much faster than in 2007, but the distance to Ferrari and McLaren is very large.
“All drivers are here to win,” he continued, “so you have to find smaller goals to keep yourself motivated.
“Our level dropped after 2005, and when that happens, it is so difficult to win back the lost ground, because while you are improving, the distance to the others stays the same because they are working in the same way,” Trulli added.
