> Ralf Schumacher: Reliability must improve

Ralf Schumacher insists Toyota must address its reliability record next season if it is to improve on its disappointing 2006 campaign.

After finishing 2005 in fourth place in the constructors’ championship, the Japanese manufacturer squad slipped to sixth place this year, after only scoring a single podium finish in 18 races.

Despite showing flashes of impressive speed at various points in the season, both Schumacher and team-mate Jarno Trulli’s attempts to add to their points tallies were hampered by six mechanical retirements apiece.

And the 31-year-old German says things must improve if the team to turn into a consistent front-runner next year.

“What we have learned for 2007 is that we must take advantage of our pace when it is there,” he told Formula 1’s official website.

“Too often we have suffered with reliability issues so that is one important area that we must improve for next season.”

But despite finishing in his lowest championship position for eight years, Schumacher took encouragement from the team’s performance in the latter stages of the season.

“The Australia podium has to go down as the highlight for the result but the speed we showed over the second half of the season was the real highlight for me,” he said.

“Of course we did not secure the results we were hoping for but in many races we were very close to the pace of Renault and McLaren.”