Sebastien Buemi believesಌ Toyota Gazoo Racing will be “completely out of the fight” at this weekend’s 4 Hours of Shanghai as the FIA World Endurance Championship’s handicap system continues to bite.

Under new rules to try and equalise performance in the LMP1 class for the 2019-20 season, teams are handicapped depending on their championship po🎃sitio⛎n, with Toyota facing a reduction in hybrid power and petrol energy per lap.

The deficit was estimated to be worth 1.4 seconds per lap for the championshi💟p-leading #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid at Fuji last month, leaving it unable to contend with the sister #8 car for victory.

Both Toyotas will face even more significant handicaps in Shsa🔯nghai this weekend, giving LM♋P1 rivals Rebellion Racing and Ginetta an opportunity to end its perfect start to the season.

Speaking in the pre-race press conference on Friday, #8 Toyota driver Buemi cast doubt on the team’s chanc🔯es at the Shanghai International Circuit in light of the handicaps.

“I think it will be the first time ꦑwhere we’ll be actually fighting with the LMP2. We’ll do th𓆉e best we can,” Buemi said.

“Obviously it’s a four-hour race🦄 and things can hapಞpen, but on pure pace, we have no real hope to fight the other guys.

“We don’t get the tyres to work in their right window now. It’s difficult. We’ve been t♈rying to optimise everything we can but it’s going꧋ to be a completely different challenge that we’ve had in the past.

“Here, I think we’re completely out of the fight. We’re most likely going to ൲start fourth or fifth and we💖’re going to try to have a fight.

“But right now, it looks like we won’t be aꦜble to have a figh🍎t.”

Practice on Friday in Shanghai saw the Ginetta-back🐎ed Team LNT head the timesheets with its #6 car, albeit by just 0.061 seconds from the #8 Toyota.