Coulthard downplays Friday showing

The Briton was fifth quickest in the morning session and sixth quickest in the afternoon, to provide some pointer as to what could be another strong outing for the Milton Keynes-based team.

But despite the strong performance, Coulthard was downplaying the performance.

"A normal Friday session today, evaluating tyres, chasing balance and getting the car set ahead of tomorrow," he said. "The times were promising, but I don't really get too excited about them on a Friday, as qualifying is the important thing."

Coulthard's caution about the performance could have been the result of teammate Mark Webber suffering yet another mechanical problem in second practice.

"I'd just started a long run in the second session and the car suffered a transmission problem, so I had to stop," said the Australian.

"The second session on a Friday is important, so it's a shame that we couldn't run for all of the time, but we'll get information on the problem tonight and look into it ready for tomorrow."