Coulthard Calls for Improved Reliability

McLaren driver David Coulthard is refusing to admit defeat in his Championship bid but has called on the team to improve reliability after he was forced to retire from the Canadian Grand Prix with gear selection problems.

Coulthard slipped further behind in the title race after Ferrari's Michael Schumacher moved to the top of the standings ahead of his McLaren teammate Kimi Raikkonen following victory in Canada. The Scot called for an improvement in reliability if he is to remain in contention after failing to finish on the podium since winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"We have the pace but we need to sort out reliability," Coulthard said after the race. "I lost fourth and fifth (gears) first of all, but when I lost seventh it was very difficult to drive. It's not been a good weekend.

"The actual race was encouraging because the pace was good compared with those around me and the front runners. When I was running in clean air it was good."

His team boss Ron Dennis had earlier insisted McLaren will not be rushed into introducing their new MP4-18 but said a massive swing in points could affect a decision one way or the other.

Despite Ferrari taking control of both Championships following the Canadian race, McLaren are unlikely to bring the new car out immediately with Dennis hinting before the race that the outcome of the Montreal race could be one of the deciding factors.

"We're testing with two cars through this coming week, we're pretty comfortable that we've removed all the issues that inevitably come out of a new car, which did come out of the car in the first two tests," said Dennis.

"We'll have a good reliable test and then we'll decide at the end of next week. One other element is the fact that the back-to-back races would put us under quite a bit of pressure with the new car, so again that will be taken into consideration."