Small is beautiful, says DC

David Coulthard has insisted that the new Red Bull Racing team, with which he signed shortly before Christmas, should not be underestimated - despite a budget which is modest by the standards of leading outfits like his former employer McLaren. The Scot has warned that "small armies can do a lot of damage if they operate effectively and are well-structured" and claims he is looking forward to playing a larger role in the team's development than he did at the vast Woking organisation. "When you have a small team with a small group of people, your level of responsibility is increased," he said. "You end up multi-tasking. McLaren is maybe two to three times as big as Red Bull and everyone has a specific task and area of responsibility. I relish being involved in a situation where you have greater responsibility for leading the team in the right direction." Coulthard also suggested that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz would not have put his reputation (and a considerable slice of his fortune) on the line if he was not serious about winning. He said: "If you look at what [Mateschitz] has achieved with the Red Bull brand and the vision he has for companies, it quickly becomes apparent that he's not going to put all that at stake by investing in something as high-profile as a Formula 1 team without a serious amount of commitment. He cannot afford to fail - we have to be competitive." Coulthard's F1 career, which has spanned 11 seasons and featured 13 grand prix victories, was hanging in the balance until RBR's Milton-Keynes based management team of Tony Purnell and David Pitchforth convinced Mateschitz that it was vital to hire an experienced driver to help propel the squad up the grid against a phalanx of manufacturer-backed competitors. Coulthard's deal, which is for one year and has no options on either side, is believed to be worth £1 million with a performance bonus of £50,000 for each world championship point he scores.