Coulthard frustrated by lack of running

The Briton was unable to get any useful mileage done yesterday, due to bad weather and a gearbox problem at Valencia, but hopes to get a full day's running under his belt today.

"I have done nothing," he told autosport.com about his early impressions of the RB3. "I did a bit of running around on the intermediates, and then we had a gearbox problem which stopped us running. We got it fixed and we got out just at the end.

"I only even did six laps in it at Barcelona  (last week) - and just one of them went past the pits. The rest of them were in and out.

"I am not trying to duck the question, but it is like a pilot commenting on an aircraft performance when all he has done is simulator work and a couple of runs down the runway. You have to get it up in the air and you have to do your thing."

Coulthard believes that it will take him as little as 10 laps to get an indication of the potential of the RB3 - and reckons the less confident he feels in the car then the better it will be.

"A quick car is tricky to drive," he explained. "So what I am looking for is something that is tricky to drive. If it feels comfortable to drive, then the chances are it is not going to be quick."