Ralf in Jeopardy at Toyota

(GMM) In a swift reversal of roles, Jarno Trulli's likely three-year deal to stay at Toyota beyond 2006 means that teammate Ralf Schumacher is now the less secure of the pair.

While the rumor mill had predicted silly-season trouble for Italy's Trulli, the fact is that Schumacher is the one with an expiring contract — his own three-year agreement runs out at the end of the 2007 season.

''That is so far in the future that I am not even thinking about it yet,'' 30-year-old Ralf, who recently split with his long time manager Willi Weber, told 'Sport-Informations-Dienst' agency.

But while the Cologne based team actually announced a three-year deal with Schumacher starting in 2005, it has constantly been rumored that the contract might include options for one or two more years.

An extra two years would bring Ralf's contract in line with Trulli's, securing his future to the end of 2009.

The German is estimated to earn about $16m a year.