Happy Coulthard Refuses to Get Carried Away

David Coulthard said today that his McLaren-Mercedes team still have a lot of work to do to catch Ferrari - despite taking first blood in the 2003 title race with victory in the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Scot Coulthard started from 11th on the grid at Albert Park but played two safety car periods to his advantage to finish less than ten seconds clear of the second-placed Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya.

But he warned: "We can be satisfied and right now, from a team point of view, we should just enjoy our first and third place - but there is certainly still work to be done to be as competitive as Ferrari. We know that during the course of a normal racing season it is not always going to work for them and maybe the Michelin tyre will give us an advantage in Malaysia.

"Qualifying positions aside we believe we are as competitive as the Williams, if not the Ferrari at this time, but we are obviously placing some hope that when the new car comes out it will be able to bridge the gap to Ferrari."

Coulthard's disappointment in qualifying, in which he struggled to cope with the pressure of the new flying lap format, was washed away with his surprise victory - but he admitted he was helped by a few lucky breaks.

Coulthard, who started on wets, said: "I felt from the installation lap to the grid that it was too wet to start on slicks but it was apparent when we did the warm-up lap that it would be touch and go.

"I told the team I would come in early to make a stop and without the safety cars that would have put us in a very difficult position. But we picked a good strategy between our stops, keep away from penalties and kept it on the island."

Coulthard, who won once - in Monaco - during last year's Ferrari-dominated season, is now the first man for 896 days to be ahead of Ferrari star Schumacher in the World Championship table.