Coulthard Hopes for Dry Conditions

Saturday morning dawned with clear skies at Imola and last year's pole position man David Coulthard was left hoping the clouds will stay away and llow him to take advantage of a dry track, which he expects will suit his McLaren-Mercedes.

Scot Coulthard finished fourth in the Friday practice session but he was more than one second slower than the leading Ferraris, who excelled on the damp track with their Bridgestone tyres.

The air temperature was 5 degrees higher than it was on Friday as the cars prepared to go out for Saturday morning practice, and Coulthard admitted that he needs the dry conditions to stay to keep the other Bridgestone runners at bay.

"I think at the moment we are a little bit concerned about the Bridgestone performance in the wet," admitted Coulthard. "I have always gone well here but the majority of racing I have done here has been in the dry.

"I would prefer for it to be dry because if it is wet some of the other Bridgestone runners are able to come up in front of us who maybe wouldn't be there in dry conditions."

Coulthard, who was second in the San Marino Grand Prix last year, has a strong record of points finishes at Imola, with five top-four places in seven races as well as two pole positions.