Irvine says DC won't beat Schuey to title

Irvine, who was team mate to Schumacher at Ferrari for four years, believes the German's driving ability is in such a different league to his rivals that he can only be beaten when driving an inferior car. And unfortunately for Coulthard, his McLaren has yet to prove its superiority over Ferrari.

"I have never believed from the beginning, that DC would be champion," Irvine told British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph. "Ferrari was never going to build a bad enough car. It's not that the team is well ahead of McLaren, but they are in the driver stakes.

"DC is not in the same league as Michael. McLaren has won championships because it had better cars in the past. The only way DC can win is if he has a much better car than Michael."

The Ulsterman's comments come just days before what stands to be a make-or-break British Grand Prix for Coulthard this weekend. The Scot lies 31 points adrift of Schumacher in the standings and has not beaten his rival since the Austrian GP two months ago.

If the McLaren ace cannot stop the Schumacher steamroller at Silverstone and fails to score himself, then the triple world champ only needs the same result in Germany two weeks later to make it four championships, ending Coulthard's title dreams with five races still to run.

"He [Schumacher] has won it easily this year," said Irvine, who left Ferrari for Jaguar at the end of 1999. "DC was not quick enough when he needed to be. That's not luck, that's fact. I don't see how DC can improve after seven years in F1. You get more experience, but you don't get quicker."

Despite Irvine's praise of Schumacher's driving talents, he is keen to point out that he is not heaping praise on his former team mate because he likes him, instead he is just stating facts.

"I don't have a down on David, it's just logic," he said. "Michael is the fastest driver in F1. I'm not saying this because I like him. I don't particularly like him or some of the things he does. Behind the wheel of a racing car, there is no-one to touch him."