Coulthard admits qualifying weakness

The McLaren driver finished seventh in Monaco while his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, finished a close second to winner Juan Pablo Montoya. Coulthard now lies fifth equal in the championship with 25 points, 23 behind leader Raikkonen.

"It just hasn't clicked for me," said Coulthard. "It is not a question of trying to redo what I am doing, but getting it right in qualifying. It is not like I am being out-paced and out-raced. I need to get some real bankers in qualifying in Canada and take it from there. I have had a few weak sessions now.

"The title is wide open and no-one is dominant at the moment," he said. "A win suddenly brings you back into it, but at the moment I am not getting enough from my results to make an impact. I am going backwards relative to the championship leaders."

The Williams team is confident that new developments to the FW25 will see it maintain its form in up-coming races. But Coulthard doesn't believe that Juan Pablo Montoya's Monaco win is evidence enough that Williams has now leap-frogged McLaren in performance terms.

"It was a strategy win, so I really don't think it changes anything a great deal," he said. "Montoya came close to winning the race in Melbourne and he just managed to get it right this time. Williams clearly deserved the victory in Monaco but they didn't blow everyone else into the weeds."