DC says Ferrari is in class of its own

Coulthard was no match for the Maranello duo as Michael Schumacher finished in front for the sixth race in succession and team mate Rubens Barrichello came home second.

DC's double world champ team mate Mika Hakkinen picked up his first points of the season with a distant sixth place, but the Finn was never in the hunt for victory. Before the race Coulthard had admitted the Silver Arrows were not as fast as the Prancing Horses and needed to get back to Europe to testing. His opinion hadn't changed after the chequered flag was waved.

"I don't share people's surprise at Ferrari's performance," said Coulthard. "They were half a second quicker in the race and a second quicker in qualifying. Williams were out of the battle very early on and Ferrari had a clear car advantage similar to the one we had in 1998.

"They are the class of the field and we have a lot of work to do to catch up. We are affected by the time difference and by being so far away from the places where we test."

Although Coulthard is unequivocal about Ferrari's current dominance, he believes tyre choice played a part in today's (Sunday's) race. McLaren, along with much of the rest of the field, took on wets during the heavy rain which began to fall on lap three. Ferrari, meanwhile, went for intermediates, allowing Schumacher and Barrichello to streak ahead when the rain stopped a few laps later.

"We thought the tyre was the right choice," said Coulthard, "and it was at the time. But if we had known the safety car was going to come out and stay out for so long, we would probably have opted for intermediates too."

Coulthard finished second in Australia and lies joint second in the championship with Barrichello on 10 points while Hakkinen lies equal seventh with fellow Finn, Kimi Raikkonen.

For full race results, click here.