DC aims to shine in home race

Coulthard romped to a sensational win at Silverstone in 2000, and says he is confident of another good showing now that the revamped car is on-stream. After a promising French Grand Prix, in which he finished sixth, the Scot is hoping for more points this weekend.

"The French Grand Prix showed that the MP4-19B package is a lot more competitive and that our performance is nearer that of the current frontrunners," said Coulthard. "This was particularly illustrated during qualifying where I put the car third on the grid just under three-tenths of a second behind pole position.

"There is of course still work to be done, but the car has good potential and I am looking forward to working with the team to extract it. Silverstone is a very different concept to the Magny-Cours circuit, primarily because it is more high speed, reaching 170mph or more on four sections of the track.

"It also has five key corners that you have to drive on the limits to maximise your lap, and are quick enough for aerodynamics to play a significant role, Copse, Maggots, Becketts, Chapel and Bridge. As a result good chassis balance is vital at Silverstone.

"As my home race, the British Grand Prix is very important to me, and of course the team. I always looking forward to racing at Silverstone in front of my home crowd with its enthusiastic atmosphere, and hopefully with the MP4-19B we will be able to secure a solid points finish in front of them."