Newey Plays Down McLaren's Form

McLaren technical director Adrian Newey played down hopes that David Coulthard might be fighting for the runner-up position of this year's World Championship, stating that the Mercedes engine is not good enough to compete with the best.

Coulthard has finished in the points in every one of the last six races, winning in Monaco and taking second behind Michael Schumacher in Montreal last weekend, and is now just one point behind Championship second.

But Newey, who remains cagey when asked to discuss the performance of the Mercedes engine, has admitted that the engine, built at the Illmor factory in Brixworth, will eventually hold them back from beating Williams to second place.

"In reality we are still behind Ferrari and Williams and it will remain that way for the rest of the season," said Newey, whose car is still thought to be one of the best on the grid.

"Frankly, with our engine package I don't see how we can change that. You've only got to look at the speed trap figures that we are not going to get there. On the split times we were losing 0.2 seconds on every straight."