DC gives RB1 thumbs-up

Although Coulthard believes that overall testing form at the moment is not indicative of where teams stand compared to the opposition, he has confessed that he feels cautiously optimistic about what he has been given by his team.

Speaking to autosport.com after the first day of public running in his new car, Coulthard said: "It seems reliable, but because of the shortage of new parts we did not start running properly until the track was dry.

"The first impression is that there is nothing scary about it, and it is just a question of putting in the laps now."

When asked what he makes of the form of rival teams, he said: "At the moment it is pretty tricky to see who is good and who is quick and all that. Unless we are all on controlled tyres then we can't be more specific about it.

"All I know is the programme I am on and until the season opens the times do not give a good indication."

The new RB1 is said to feature a number of radical elements, as is exclusively revealed in this week's Autosport magazine.

Rob Taylor, head of vehicle design at RBR, said: "We've got components on the car that are a first in terms of design. As far as I know, nobody else in the pitlane is using some of the components we have in the cooling system."