No team orders, insists Coulthard

Coulthard cruises the infamous Reeperbahn

David Coulthard says McLaren will not force him to help team-mate Mika Hakkinen's title bid at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

The British driver, fresh from a promotional cruise in the infamous red light district of Hamburg in Germany, insisted he will be allowed to run his own race at Monza.

Coulthard's exhibition run along the Reeperbahn in a special two-seater version of the McLaren-Mercedes car was watched by 20,000 fans.

Afterwards the Scot maintained that he still had a chance of winning his first world championship.

He rejected suggestions that he would have to race to help Hakkinen's bid for a third straight championship.

With four races of the season remaining Coulthard trails the Finn by 13 points and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher by seven.

It was an interesting day because we have taken the car to the public rather than the public coming to the car - it was an opportunity for them to see an F1 car up close, to hear it, smell it and it is something special

  Coulthard in Hamburg

The 29-year-old Scot knows he must win this weekend to keep his title dreams alive.

"I don't believe there will be any team orders. Things have been said in private that make me very confident I will be given my chance to race for the title," said Coulthard.

"I am certainly not giving up on it. Why should I? There are 40 points available for maximum finishes in the next four races and I am only 13 points behind Mika.

"Things have gone well for him and not so great for me. But I have still picked up points, and even though it has been a bit of a struggle at times, I am still there."

Ferrari

Despite Coulthard's optimism, Ferrari owner Gianni Agnelli believes Hakkinen is more than likely to take his place in the Formula One record books this season.

Not since the 1950s has a driver won three titles in a row, and although Schumacher will have the fervent backing this weekend of the Italian Ferrari fans, Agnelli sees Hakkinen as a strong favourite.

"I would say Hakkinen has a 60% chance of winning the championship and we have a 40% chance," said Agnelli.

"We have waited a long time for the championship. It has been 21 years, but to be the best in the world at one thing is always going to be very difficult to achieve."

World record bid

The Monza race offers an intriguing three-way battle between the two leading teams.

As well as the drivers championship, this year's constructors title remains up for grabs with McLaren enjoying a narrow eight-point advantage over the Italian team.

But there is also the small matter of a world record at stake.

A McLaren victory in Ferrari's back yard would see them equal the Italian marque's 131 race win record, which has taken the Maranello outfit 50 years and 632 grands prix to achieve.

The British team have spent just 34 years and 505 races to reach 130 victories.