Montoya Warns Coulthard to Up Game

McLaren-Mercedes 2005 recruit Juan Pablo Montoya has warned David Coulthard that he must up his game if he wants to retain a place in Formula One beyond the end of next season.

Scot Coulthard will race for McLaren in 2004 but faces the prospect of being left without a drive when Montoya moves over to the team as a probable partner to Finn Kimi Raikkonen.

Coulthard struggled to get to grips with the new one-lap qualifying format this season and Montoya warned: "One day you think 'that's it' and it's over for you and the next day everything changes.

"DC needs to get on with it and show what he can do if he wants to stay in Formula One. The only way is that he raises his game or he has to think about whether he quits now. If you don't perform you don't get the job."

Montoya finished third in last season's championship with 82 points to World Champion Michael Schumacher's 93 and won two races - in Monaco and Germany - for his Williams-BMW team.

He was riled by several decisions his team made this year, however, and McLaren boss Ron Dennis managed to lure him to the Woking-based team for the season after next.

Montoya, however, is not concerned that Williams may favour his teammate Ralf Schumacher next season and told the Times: "It won't make any difference. Williams and BMW were 100 percent behind me and I still believe they are.

"I will be the same as long as I am in a Williams car and still give it everything. There were no problems at Williams, it was just that a new opportunity came up and I thought I could try something different."