Coulthard downplays season prospects

Red Bull's David Coulthard fears he may have to revise his goals for the Formula One season starting next month after mixed results with the new car in pre-season testing

Coulthard downplays season prospects

"At the moment we're not going to achieve the goals I had for the year," the Scot told the official Formula One website "But we've got some more time to develop and hopefully, once we've done that, we can try and achieve them."

The 35-year-old, winner of 13 Grands Prix with Williams and McLaren, said fifth place in the championship was still a realistic target for his Renault-powered team.

"Of course it's realistic. Other teams are not doing anything that's not humanly possible, it's just that they've got the right mix of technical investment and facilities. That's what we need to continue to develop at Red Bull and then the results will come.

"The current things we are working on are the gearbox, overall reliability and basically building our relationship with Renault and learning about its electronic systems," said Coulthard.

"The package is not yet optimised so we've got a lot of work to do to get the performance we want."

The new RB3 car is the first designed for the team by former Williams and McLaren designer Adrian Newey. Coulthard's Australian teammate Mark Webber has struggled to fit comfortably into it.

The season starts in Australia on March 18.

shares
comments

Bridgestone happy with Bahrain tyre

Grapevine: Michelin star for Ricard restaurant

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
GP Racing

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jonathan Noble

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Adam Cooper

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

How a dynamic design tool has grown in F1 importance

How a dynamic design tool has grown in F1 importance

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

How a dynamic design tool has grown in F1 importance How a dynamic design tool has grown in F1 importance