Coulthard disappointed with McLaren

David Coulthard has admitted his disappointment after the first race of the season in Melbourne yesterday, where McLaren were out-performed by Ferrari every time. McLaren were using the new MP4-17 but the two last year's Ferrari F2001s took the front row of the grid and despite the first corner crash giving Coulthard the lead, he ended up retiring with a failed gearbox.

David Coulthard.

Photo by DaimlerChrysler.

"It's difficult to find a positive, we weren't quick in qualifying, we weren't quick in the wet and we didn't finish the race." He said. "I can't deny it, it's not good that they (Ferrari) have been so strong here in qualifying, in wet conditions and obviously in the race. I think Michael (Schumacher) was probably just running at a canter. I am very frustrated because I recognise the importance of getting points early on in the season. You see only (eight) cars finished I think and that's the time when you should be out there finishing as well."

The Scot's young team mate Kimi Raikkonen took a podium finish in third, although his race was not without incident: he had to pit for a new nose cone and have debris removed from his car after the first corner incident and also had a trip across the grass after his pit stop. Coulthard would have preferred it to have been himself on the podium but he knew it was an important result for Raikkonen. "At the end of the day Kimi's a competitor and I can't say I'm happy for any competitor to score points when I'm not. But I recognise the importance of a first podium to him." He said.