McLaren get behind Coulthard

Coulthard joined the McLaren team in 1996

McLaren will fully support David Coulthard's bid to win the 2004 Formula One drivers championship in his last season with the team.

Team chief Ron Dennis is confident the Scottish driver can perform well even though he is being replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya for the 2005 campaign.

"We are going to give him every opportunity to win the championship in our car," said Dennis.

"I'm sure he'll be a fierce competitor and can be a world champion."

Coulthard's F1 future remains unclear since McLaren announced the arrival of Montoya last November.

Coulthard vows to improve

But Dennis believes that the 32-year-old Briton will be determined to finish his career on a high rather than accepting a drive in a less competitive car.

"I will be very surprised if he has a good year that he would want to drive in anything that was not a good race car," said Dennis.

"He will not make the mistake other drivers have made. If he cannot go forward with us or any other team then he will stop I think."