Coulthard 'Very Positive' over F1 Future

David Coulthard believes his past history in Formula One will stand him in good stead for a drive in 2005 as speculation continues to circulate about his future.

Coulthard, a 13-times Grand Prix winner from 162 career starts, is widely expected to be the man to make way at McLaren-Mercedes next year when Juan Pablo Montoya makes the switch from rivals Williams-BMW.

But 33-year-old Coulthard, who finished runner-up to Michael Schumacher in the World Championship in 2001, is confident his background and experience will help him land a drive as he is linked with moves to Williams, Jaguar and Toyota.

"I think that if you don't have a history, you either have the word potential beside your name or you are not considered someone who will be in Formula One for very long," Coulthard said at the Monaco Grand Prix.

"I have gone through a period in my career where I started with no history and just that word potential. Then you turn that word into race results, so I am comfortable to look back on the results I have and use those."

Coulthard refused to shed any light on where his future may lie if, as expected, Kimi Raikkonen is the man McLaren opt to retain for 2005.

"I am very positive, but I can't tell you," Coulthard said when asked about his future. "Announcements are announcements and until that time what am I going to say? Everyone has just got to wait for all the announcements.

"People continue to speculate about all the drivers that are up for contract renewal or potential to move away, but that is all it is until there is an official announcement."

Coulthard has endured a nightmare start to the current season as McLaren's new car struggles for power and reliability and has just four points to his name from the opening five races, while teammate Raikkonen has picked up just one point.