Coulthard 'encouraged'

McLaren number one David Coulthard gave the team something to cheer after the disappointment of the opening two races in Brazil today (Friday). The Scot set the best time in the second session of free practice at Interlagos and he believes the MP4-17 is a more competitive package around the Brazilian bumps than it was last time out in Sepang

"I'm quite encouraged by today's performance and I believe we have taken a step forward since Malaysia," he said. "We ran reliably and I got a lot of laps under my belt. There was a small spin in the first session due to a problem with the traction control, but on the whole I'm pleased. Qualifying will be hard, but I'm going to give 100 per cent, get the maximum from the car and aim for that perfect lap."

Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen also spun in the first session and he lost a lot of track time after he stalled. He managed to cover 26 laps in total and feels happy with the performance of his car.

"We have been able to consistently improve the car throughout today but unfortunately I lost the majority of the first session as I spun and was unable to continue," he explained. "I believe there is still room for improvement, and I'm looking forward to making further progress tomorrow."