Coulthard: Ferrari, McLaren clearly ahead

Although teams like Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing have been fastest overall on some days of pre-season testing, Coulthard thinks that the fight at the front is just between two teams.

"I think they have an advantage, yes," Coulthard told autosport.com about Ferrari and McLaren's pace. "A big advantage.

"I don't know why they are doing such a good job and why the rest are not doing one. We all work hard.

"I think what it shows is that in F1 everyone has a wind tunnel and so on, but to make the car work on the track is so difficult. The car moves around on the circuit, and the driver does things like touch the kerbs, and that makes it hard."

Coulthard feels that part of the explanation for McLaren and Ferrari's strong pace could be in the way their chassis works with the tyres.

"For sure, some teams work more efficiently with these tyres in a certain window of temperature, and when it goes hot they struggle," he said.

"It is possible the McLaren and the Ferraris just are working the tyre more. So they get more heat out of the tyre, and out of that they get the laptime."