Coulthard rallies support for 2002

Coulthard finished a distant second to rival Schumacher last year after the German took his fourth crown. DC is aiming to fight back in 2002, but says he needs the kind of support that McLaren gave to his former team mate and double world champ Mika Hakkinen, if he is to succeed.

Speaking exclusively at the AUTOSPORT International show, Coulthard said: "I think that Mika enjoyed a lot of support from [team boss] Ron [Dennis] and other key people in the team, which he deserved because he was a fantastically quick racing driver. But that's what I need as well because Michael has the whole Ferrari team built up around him.

"If you don't feel good, you don't perform. You need to be in the right environment and have the right people around you pulling for your side so that when the battle is on you know they're going to support you. And that's where the team can help the driver a lot."

The flying Scotsman stepped out of Hakkinen's shadow last year and with the Finn being replaced by young gun Kimi Raikkonen for 2002, Coulthard is hoping to lead the fight for McLaren this year.

However, the 30-year-old believes the key to success lies not just in support from the team, but also the general public and that he has been on the receiving end of unjust criticism in the past.

"Just because I haven't won a championship in the past, doesn't mean I can't win one in the future," he added. "Michael's very, very good, but I think I'm good and I wouldn't be in Formula 1 if I wasn't.

"I sometimes get a little bit frustrated when I pick up on negative comments about me that make it seem like I don't know the front end of a car from the back, it gets very frustrating, because I wouldn't be here if I couldn't drive. I've had some great victories in the past and I'm going to have some more in the future."