McLaren to Replace Coulthard's Engine

McLaren's David Coulthard will have his Mercedes engine changed ahead of tomorrow's European Grand Prix.

The Scot lost his engine right after completing his flying lap in the pre-qualifying session, and he was forced to park his car and miss final qualifying. Coulthard said his team would move his spare car's engine to his racing machine.

"We took the decision to stick with my race car rather than using the T-car because we felt more comfortable using the race car, and the difference in actual qualifying position would be minimal," said the Scot, who will start the race from 20th place.

"As a result we will move the engine from the T-car to the race car, which means I will start from the back of the grid. There is no doubt that our performance is improving. Obviously its disappointing as my first run was encouraging, and I think we could have qualified well for the race."

It was a day of mixed fortunes for McLaren, with Kimi Raikkonen enjoying his strongest qualifying session of the season. The Finn qualified in fourth place.

"Our best qualifying performance this season, so I'm satisfied," he said. "We were even hoping to get in the first three with a perfect lap, but whilst we were close it wasn't to be. Now one half of the job has been done, and we need to see what happens in the race, but so far it's looking good.

"The circuit seems to suit our car as we have showed improvement throughout the weekend, but there is still a race to complete."