Light at the end of McLaren's tunnel

By Jonathan Legard BBC motor racing correspondent

I wanted more - I knew to be cautious but I really wanted more David Coulthard Coulthard rues poor start

Michael Schumacher could not have asked for more from himself, his car or his team in France.

His total of 79 Grand Prix victories is more than six times that of David Coulthard, the next most winning driver on the grid.

But what a contrast this year's race was to that of four years ago, when the pair lit up the dreary Magny-Cours circuit with a sensational duel, bristling with aggression and determination.

Coulthard toughed it out with Schumacher in two wheel-banging incidents at the Adelaide hairpin and scored his ninth career win.

In 2004, the closest the Scot came to his old rival was following behind him on the formation lap before the start.

By the end of Sunday's race, the fanfare that the latest offering from the McLaren design office received after qualifying on Saturday had become little more than a whistle in the dark alongside the latest Ferrari champagne celebration.

"I wanted more. I knew to be cautious but I really wanted more," Coulthard admitted after coming in sixth, more than half a minute down on the winner.

"We were hanging in there rather than pushing the front guys. And to really believe you can race them, you've got to be stronger somewhere and I'm not really sure where that is."

Coulthard and team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen did at least score points in the new MP4-19B, which had not completed a race distance before the weekend.

Dennis and Coulthard are hoping for a better second half of the season

But the promise of qualifying third - Coulthard's best display in 15 months - vanished as the lights went out.

A small fire in the airbox of his car caused the engine to bog down and he slipped down to fifth at the first corner, and that became sixth when Schumacher's team-mate Rubens Barrichello passed him a little later on.

"Today we were only good enough for sixth. In lap time we were similar to a lot of the cars so it's about being consistent and we weren't that consistent during the race," Coulthard said.

Technical director, Adrian Newey whose presence along with chief designer Mike Coughlan emphasised the significance of the car's debut, was quick to point out that Raikkonen had set the third fastest lap of the race.

But even Newey confessed to being underwhelmed by the overall performance despite some encouraging signs.

"I'm a little disappointed by the result. But we were competitive so let's turn that into podium results," he said.

"The car is mainly an aerodynamic and bodywork change relative to the MP4-19, including revisions to the rear suspension to suit Michelin, so we were reasonably comfortable that the reliability would be OK."

There's no question we're looking forward to a better half - and there's further developments to come which can help us keep track with the competition David Coulthard

Raikkonen's level of comfort might not be so high following four engine failures in 10 races.

But what Newey did not say was that at the same time as changing the outer skin, McLaren have reportedly raised the height of the engine and modified the oil system to reduce the risk of a blow-out.

At a time when engineers are looking to place the engine as low as possible for maximum performance, this solution must be a compromise.

Mercedes boss Norbert Haug, though, was keen to emphasise the positive.

"The MP4-19B has shown that the B stands for better," he joked after qualifying.

But only the best will do for McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, who insists the team can win a race in 2004 despite their worst start to a season in more than 20 years.

Coulthard has not gone that far but he remains hopeful of a brighter second half of the season.

"There's no question we're looking forward to a better half - and there's further developments to come which can help us keep track with the competition," he said.

Montoya's weekend went wrong after this crash on Friday

"I'll be more confident at Silverstone but clearly there is more work to be done. I'd say our chances of success were as strong as Magny-Cours.

"Ferrari will be strong. BAR will like the fast, open track. Williams should be good. I hope we can mix it."

Williams will certainly aim to improve on a dismal weekend in France, where their Michelin-inspired superiority of recent seasons was a distant memory.

For all the new aerodynamic parts, the car found no traction in the slow corners and suffered accordingly.

"Our pace was disappointing and we obviously need to keep pushing to improve," was the terse verdict of technical director Sam Michael.

Following Ralf Schumacher's huge crash at Indianapolis, another of their drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya, is in the wars after a heavy crash in Friday practice and will miss the F1 demonstration run in London on Tuesday.

Neck pains hinder Montoya

He could barely keep his head up in the race after hurting his neck in a crash on Friday. But he did not help himself also by spinning early on and losing three places.

Marc Gene, 10th in France, should get the benefit of the doubt for Silverstone, where the FW26 should go better through the faster corners.

But there is increasing speculation that the team's other test driver, Antonio Pizzonia, will get the nod for the German Grand Prix.

For Frank Williams and Ron Dennis, well accustomed to life in the fast lane, getting up to speed in 2004 continues to be a slow process.