Formula 1: No special treatment for Coulthard
David Coulthard will receive no favours from McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen in the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Scottish Formula One driver closed the gap in this year’s championship to just four points behind Ferrari ace Michael Schumacher when he won the Austrian Grand Prix from seventh on the grid a fortnight ago.
Coulthard is McLaren’s number two driver behind Hakkinen, but, with 11 races left this season, he is 34 points clear of his Finnish team-mate and has a real chance of snatching the title away from Schumacher and Ferrari.
However, the McLaren team have not given Hakkinen instructions to let Coulthard pass him in future races even though the latter had to move over when Hakkinen was chasing the world title last season.
The Scot said: ‘‘There have been no discussions about that since the race in Austria. There is no point even talking about it until later in the year.’’
Coulthard has taken points in all six races so far. His superb form this season has boosted his profile, and raised his hopes of landing a bumper deal when his contract is up for renewal at the end of the season.
The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to F1 rivals Jordan, although they deny having made an approach so far.
But Coulthard insists he is not thinking about the future.
Speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte Carlo, he said: ‘‘I am totally relaxed about the future, I think it will take care of itself.
‘‘I am sure there have been conversations between my manager and McLaren, and as and when it is relevant I’ll get involved in them, but at the moment it is too early in the season.’’
Coulthard is confident he can land first place in the race in what is now his home town.
He owns a 187-bedroom hotel in the glitzy centre, and has rented out most of the rooms to the McLaren team this week.
He said: ‘‘I’m looking forward to it. I am pretty relaxed and just enjoying the build-up of the festivities we have in Monaco.
‘‘I very much believe I have a good chance of winning this Grand Prix. We had a good test in Valencia last week.
‘‘Ferrari are still the main rival and maybe have a small advantage over us in qualifying, but we’ll be doing everything we can to try and win this race.
‘‘The reliability of my car has given me the chance to score points and gain confidence and we have built on that it is as simple as that.
‘‘Also structuring things in a way that are a positive distraction to my time rather than a negative.’’
