In a masterpiece of understatement, Italian veteran Jarno Trulli has admitted that his start to the 2010 season has been far from promising, the Lotus driver only finishing in two of the first four races.

Of the 219 race laps to date, Trulli has only finished 123 (76.4%), having failed to start the Australian Grand Prix and retiring after 26 laps of the Chinese race with a hydraulics problem. In the two races he has finished, the Italian crossed the line in seventeenth.

"I knew that it wouldn't be easy, that everything would be new and we would need time," he told Italian motor sport magazine Autosprint. "I had expected at least to drive. Instead, after four races I did not start once and when I got to the finish, it was because it was decided I should take the chequered flag but in far from ideal conditions."

On the other hand, Trulli's teammate, former Renault and McLaren driver, Heikki Kovalainen, has finished three races with his best result being thirteenth in Australia. In the one race he failed to finish (Malaysia), the Finn was eliminated by a hydraulics issue, the apparent Achilles heel on the T127.

"Bad luck seems to persevere on my car," said Trulli, "everything happens on my car and my car only. So, to this day, my expectations have not been met. I knew it would be tough, but I practically haven't driven yet. I'll pass judgement at the end of the year."

Nonetheless, Trulli remains convinced that his team is the most competitive of the three newcomers this season. "We operate like a real team in the top series, but unfortunately we are only at 10% of our potential because of lack of time. There's no testing, and the racing weekend is the only chance to test and oil the structure. For us this is our apprenticeship year.

"The thing Lotus has lacked is time," he continued, "the main culprit for our difficulties. Had we had time to program everything more in advance, we would have better prepared the structure, the car, the gearbox, our hydraulics system and everything you need to start well. All this work is being done now, race after race."