Q & A with David Coulthard

Q: Finally your streak of bad luck has been broken and you're back on the world championship points table! How did you celebrate your fifth place in Barcelona?

David Coulthard: It really felt good to see points next to my name on the official championship classification sheet and it shows we're moving in the right direction. There were no post-race celebrations, as we were testing the following week at Paul Ricard. I'll save the celebrations for when I next step up on the podium!
 
Q: In the last two races the RB3 seemed to perform much better than at the beginning of the season, even if there wasn't a positive racing result in Bahrain. How did the latest aerodynamic changes influence the RB3's performance in Barcelona?

DC: Like all the teams, we came to Spain with a new aerodynamic package that we'd tested the week before. Even before the first race of the season, we knew what we had to do in terms of the aero performance, so Adrian and his crew had been working on it for quite a while.

It was definitely a big improvement on what we had before, and Spain is the type of track where aero counts for a lot, partly because of the very long straight. As I said, an improvement, but there's still a lot more to do.
 
Q: In your opinion, what potential does Red Bull Racing have compared to direct competitors like BMW, Williams, Toyota, Honda or Renault?

DC: With the exception of BMW, we've been consistently quicker than the other teams in your list. At the moment we have a quick car with good potential but we need to work on reliability.

It's impossible to gauge the potential of other teams without knowing exactly where they're at in terms of developing their package. However progress tends to be incremental once the season is underway, so I'm confident that we can continue to improve and work our way up the grid.
 
Q: What are your goals for the next race, the GP in Monte Carlo?

DC: Repeating last year's performance would be a great achievement, I love the track, I've had pole and won there twice. We've tested the Monaco aero and mechanical set up at Paul Ricard and it proved to be reliable, so my goal is to do exactly as I did each time I finished on the podium.

Q: Please describe the circuit through the streets of Monaco from the Formula One cockpit.

DC: There are so many different characteristics: The first corner is always very slippery, the rush through Casino Square is fantastic as you brush the barriers on the run down to the hairpins.

The tunnel is possibly the most exciting part of the track, as it's just so fast and you go from daylight to dark and back to daylight and as you come out, braking for the chicane is really tricky.

It can be extremely bumpy as it's a street circuit, but having such a slow average speed you don't suffer the effect of any high g-force on your neck or upper body.

As I said before, the difference between this and a 'normal' circuit is that you really get no time for a breather as you would going down the long straight in Spain for example. So it's very tiring, but at the same time fantastically rewarding to drive well.
 
Q: In the last two years RBR in Monaco was promoting the films Superman Returns and Star Wars. What 'Hollywood connection' is planned for this year?

DC: As far as I know, there's no Hollywood connection this year, but we'll be promoting a special event that will allow the fans to get closer to the team and raise money for a charity at the same time. But I can't say any more about that at the moment.