Coulthard will persevere with launch control
McLaren's David Coulthard says that he fully intends to use launch control at the start of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, despite having failed to get off the line in two of the last three races since the driver aid was allowed back into Formula 1
After taking a dominant pole position in Monaco, Coulthard was left stranded on the grid at the beginning of the warm-up lap and stalled at the start proper in Spain. Team mate Mika Hakkinen also failed to get away in Austria.
Despite the setbacks, Coulthard has still managed to finish every race this season in the points and the Scot believes that using the system, warts and all, is more of an advantage than carrying out a manual start.
"We intend to keep using this system," Coulthard told Autosport's sister title Motorsport News, "because in all the simulations we have carried out up to now it showed itself to be much quicker than the manual start."
After carrying out 12 starts during testing at Magny-Cours last week, McLaren tester Alex Wurz had two faults, neither of which were believed to be the same as the problems which hampered Coulthard in Spain and Monaco.
"Also in all the tests," continued Coulthard, "the part of the system that failed in Monaco has worked perfectly. The difficulties in Monaco and Spain were different, but we're almost certain to have resolved the problems."
DC lies second in the drivers' standings, 12 points behind Ferrari ace Michael Schumacher and while the German sympathises with Coulthard, he does not believe that McLaren should be too worried by its reliability problems.
"It's unusual that McLaren has been having these problems," said Schumacher, "and I feel sorry for David. But on the other side, lets not forget that David has finished all this year's races, so you can't talk about bad reliability of the car."
Previous article
Williams drivers need maturity to match their pace
Next article
Head: Our Drivers are Not Mature
Why the 2021 title fight is far from F1's worst, despite its toxic background
OPINION: Formula 1 reconvenes for the Russian Grand Prix two weeks after the latest blow in ‘Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton’. While the Silverstone and Monza incidents were controversial, they thankfully lacked one element that so far separates the 2021 title fight from the worst examples of ugly championship battles
How F1’s other champion to emerge from 1991 thrived at Lotus
Mika Hakkinen became Michael Schumacher’s biggest rival in Formula 1 in the late-90s and early 2000s, having also made his F1 debut in 1991. But as MARK GALLAGHER recalls, while Schumacher wowed the world with a car that was eminently capable, Hakkinen was fighting to make his mark with a famous team in terminal decline
The forgotten F1 comeback that began Jordan’s odyssey
Before Michael Schumacher – or anyone else – had driven the 191 (or 911 as it was initially called), Eddie Jordan turned to a fellow Irishman to test his new Formula 1 car. JOHN WATSON, a grand prix winner for Penske and McLaren, recalls his role in the birth of a legend…
The squandered potential of a 70s F1 underdog
A podium finisher in its first outing but then never again, the BRM P201 was a classic case of an opportunity squandered by disorganisation and complacency, says STUART CODLING
The other notable Monza escape that F1 should learn from
OPINION: The headlines were dominated by the Italian Grand Prix crash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who had the halo to thank for avoiding potentially serious injury. But two days earlier, Formula 1 had a lucky escape with a Monza pitlane incident that could also have had grave consequences
How Monza only added more questions to F1's sprint race conundrum
With two sprint races under its belt, Formula 1 must now consider its options for them going forward. While they've helped deliver exciting racing on Sundays, the sprints themselves have been somewhat lacking - creating yet another conundrum for F1 to solve...
Who should Alfa Romeo sign for 2022's F1 season?
OPINION: With Valtteri Bottas already signed up for 2022, all eyes are on the race for the second seat at Alfa Romeo next year. Antonio Giovinazzi is the current incumbent, but faces a tough competition from appealing short and long-term prospects
The "forced break" that was key to Ricciardo's Monza excellence
OPINION: Daniel Ricciardo has long been considered one of Formula 1’s elite drivers. But his struggles at McLaren since switching from Renault for 2021 have been painful to watch at times. Yet he’s recovered to banish those memories with a famous Monza win – built on a critically important foundation
