|
 |
Front Page | Motorsport | Formula One 
|
|
 |
||
 |
||
|
INTRO |
TEAMS |
DRIVERS|
CIRCUITS | CAR GUIDE
| ||
|
||
|
|
David Coulthard fulfilled the pre-season claims of McLaren boss Ron Dennis that the Scot would be a force to be reckoned with in 2001, but it is Coulthard's misfortune that he did it in a year when his team performed below their best.
Had McLaren produced the sort of car they have become accustomed to - ie one that is the class of the field - Coulthard could well have battled hard with Michael Schumacher for the world title. That, in fact, was exactly what he did until June, when a series of problems took the momentum out of his season. The MP4-16 proved not to be one of McLaren designer Adrian Newey's best cars, so Coulthard found himself driving better than ever at a time when it mattered much less than it might have done before. Most impressively, Coulthard outshone his team-mate Mika Hakkinen, which is no mean feat, although the Scot's critics would say that is because the Finn has been below par. Coulthard has resolved the main weakness in his driving, his inconsistency. All he can hope for now is that he learns the lessons of this year, drive even better in 2002, and hope both that McLaren recover their form for a title assault next season - and that Kimi Raikkonen does not turn out to be a younger version of Hakkinen. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
