DC 'unsure' of McLaren form

Speaking after concluding his pre-season testing programme at Imola yesterday (Wednesday), the Scot admitted that the team had reliability issues to address, but said that he'd rather have a fast car than a reliable one for the opening race.

Asked whether McLaren was ready for Melbourne, Coulthard told autosport.com: "That's a great question. Everyone wants to know who has performance and who is ready. As to how ready we are, we've done a lot of laps but there are reliability issues that we have to resolve on various points.

"Going into Melbourne we're still not quite sure where we are. We knew last year what the car was capable of, and the car was capable of winning. Then we peaked from there. At the moment, it looks closer [between the top teams] than in the past."

Coulthard's team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, recently expressed serious concerns about the reliability of the latest Mercedes engine. Asked whether he shared this view, Coulthard said: "I wouldn't agree with that because in F1 there are always reliability issues. Even if you don't have problems, things can happen. For example, when I retired in Malaysia last year it was not the engine, but connector trouble.

"For me, the question is how quick are we? In many ways, I'd be happier to be quick in Melbourne and have no reliability than to be reliable and slow. Then we'd know we have a strong car for the rest of the year. Honestly speaking, it will not be a surprise if Ferrari, Williams and Renault will all be quick in Melbourne. The question is how we fit in with them."