Coulthard confident despite shaky start

David Coulthard remains confident his Red Bull Racing team can enjoy a strong weekend in Monaco despite a shaky start on Thursday

The Scot lost valuable track time due to a mechanical problem in the first session, managing just three untimed laps.

The afternoon was much more productive, however, with 39 laps covered and the 14th fastest time.

Despite his problems, Coulthard reckons his team will be in good shape.

"I lost some track time this morning with a throttle actuator problem and it's never good to miss out on any track time, especially here in Monaco," said the Scot. "It meant we had to adjust our programme for this afternoon, to make sure I got more laps in and got myself back up to speed.

"I think I've recovered reasonably well, but in Monaco, the time you have the most knowledge of the track is on the last of the 78 laps on Sunday afternoon.

"So, not the best of starts, but I think we are now in good shape for the rest of the weekend."

Teammate Mark Webber felt his car was not yet suited to be competitive at Monte Carlo, but the Australian was adamant the team know how to solve their problems.

"We got through all our programme, but there is still some work to do, assuming we are looking at a dry qualifying and a dry race," said Webber, 13th quickest.

"At the moment the car is not suiting the track that well, but we know what we need to do to sort it out."