DC: McLaren needs to do more

Speaking to BBC's Radio Five Live, Coulthard said that the basic balance of the car feels good, but the basic speed just isn't there.

"It's a combination of design issues and that leads to drivers having a lack of confidence," Coulthard told Five Live. "The balance of the car is not that bad. If the pace was there, I'd be reasonably happy with it.

"I've certainly had winning cars more difficult to drive than this one, but it just doesn't give the necessary speed in the corners and on the straights to give you the lap time. It's as simple as that. Your performance is measured every second weekend and it's there for everyone to see. We need to do more.

"It's a combination of the entire package. One of the greatest strengths of the car is its ability to brake into the corners. Control systems are working very well. And it performs very strongly in that area relative to the competition. But leaving the corners, in the middle of the corners, positional ability is quite difficult, so that's where you lose the time."

Coulthard also suggested that McLaren's move to a new, state-of-the-art factory had been a distraction for some of its prime movers.

"People can get lost within a vast organisation like McLaren-Mercedes," he added. "When analysing where performance has dropped off, I'm sure there will be some people drop out of the system."