McLaren, who won races last year with Coulthard and Raikkonen and took the Finn to within two points of the world title, could barely even scrape into the top 10 in Barcelona.

Michael Schumacher won the race despite an exhaust problem, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello and Renault’s Jarno Trulli.

The seven months since Raikkonen and Schumacher went into the final race of 2003 fighting tooth and nail for the world title have seen radically different fortunes for McLaren and Ferrari – two of Formula One’s most successful teams.

As the Italian giants claimed a one-two, Coulthard and Raikkonen finished 10th and 11th respectively after a team performance described as “weak” by Mercedes chief Norbert Haug.

But Dennis has expressed his belief that McLaren’s fortunes will be revived this season, claiming their troubles have only served to intensify their desire.

“It’s rare you have more than one problem within a grand prix organisation and we are struggling with several issues,” he said.

“From our perspective, it’s not where we want to be, it’s extremely painful, it’s extremely motivating.

“I anticipate we will have a significant performance step sometime in the next six races – sooner rather than later.”

Dennis feels his win-or-bust attitude will also pay dividends.

McLaren have not attempted to rush through minor modifications this season, forcing their drivers to scrap around in the middle of the pack for most of the year.

Dennis has a logic behind this though, insisting his only plan is to create a winning car – not one which can score a handful of extra points.

“As an organisation we exist to win,” he said. “We are not even here to compete, we are certainly not here to come second.

“In some ways, if you aren’t in a position to win there’s a degree of saying our strategy should be to win, not worry too much whether you are third, fourth or fifth.

“That means you avoid the desire to go short term and throw lots of resources at your team, your car, your engine package to get an immediate step forward. It’s much better to say how big a step is needed to win and take the strategy for that.”

Coulthard has answered Dennis’ rallying call and insists he is prepared to battle through their current lean spell to help the team move forward.

“It was a very difficult race as obviously our performance was down,” he said.

“We just have to take the pain at the moment and continue to work hard to improve. The positive things are that the car was reliable and the strategy was right.

“There is no doubt that we will get better. We have the depth, the focus and the resources, but it will take some time.”