Trulli's Toyota is 'like a Jordan.'

It looks like there's plenty of work to be done over at the big-budget Toyota F1 squad with driver Jarno Trulli apparently likening the latest TF105 to his poor handling Jordan EJ11.

Reuters reports that Trulli told Saturday's Gazetta dello Sport that his latest F1 car reminds him of the one he drove in 2001

"The car seems quick and competitive, but not over the distance," says the report, adding. "The problem is excessive rear tyre wear, we have three weeks left and we hope to resolve it."

Toyota technical director, Mike Gascoyne, has plenty of pressure on his shoulders for this year's car to perform after the disappointments of last year's chassis. The Brit was formerly at Jordan, but had essentially left the team before the EJ11 that Trulli talks about was built.

"It's definitely not due to the weight distribution," says Trulli, who also worked with Gascoyne when he was at Renault.

"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," he said.

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

Both Trulli and Toyota will be hoping the car fairs rather better than the EJ11 did in 2001. In the seventeen races of that season, Trulli retired from nine races and was disqualified from another. His best of the season was a fourth place in the Spanish GP, and he ended the year in joint ninth place with Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' standings.