Another year chasing Ferrari for McLaren?

McLaren's David Coulthard is not overly confident of beating Ferrari next year and if the new McLaren package isn't better, the team faces playing catch up to the Scuderia again. Coulthard thinks Ferrari are capable of keeping up the superiority it has showed in the last couple of years.

"It's worrying because we are having to pin a lot of hopes on the fact that the new package will give us performance," he told Reuters. "If we fail to roll out the new car and go a second faster, then it's probably going to mean another year of chasing Ferrari."

"Certainly I think Ferrari can continue and carry this level of performance into next year. But beyond 2003 I think it's a brave man that would say it's just an indefinite performance level. Unfortunately just because we all want it to be more competitive it doesn't mean it's going to be."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis is more optimistic about the team returning to form. The Woking squad has obviously struggled this season with only one victory -- Coulthard in Monaco -- but Dennis believes it's only a matter of time before the Ferrari dominance is ended.

"There is nothing more certain than that Ferrari will be beaten by someone at some time," he said last weekend in Hungary. "That is one thing you can be absolutely certain about -- the only question is when it will happen. History shows that we sustained a very strong position like this for six years or so. It has been done before."

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