McLaren Mercedes’ revival at last weekend’s French GP proved to be short-lived… Both Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard were off the pace at Hockenheim on Sunday.
McLaren Mercedes’ revival at last weekend’s French GP proved to be short-lived… Both Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard were off the pace at Hockenheim on Sunday.
Coulthard trailed home fifth, a lap down on winner Michael Schumacher while Raikkonen suffered a blown rear tyre before spinning off in the latter stages of the race.
Coulthard said: “[It was] a bad weekend compared to Magny-Cours, but I think fifth was the best we could do in the circumstances.
“I gained a few places at the start and then lost a bit of time behind Trulli. Once I got past him it was a matter of keeping the car on the track and hope for reliability. My first set of tyres was blistering a bit so we made a few adjustments in the pitstop.
”I was then quick in my middle stint compared to the other Michelin runners but really two points was all there was in it today.”
Coulthard said it was unlikely McLaren would be regular contenders until next season.
“The gap to Ferrari has fluctuated a bit but I don’t believe we will turn things round totally until we get a totally new package,” the Scot said. “We will probably be flitting between fifth or sixth and the podium for the rest of the season.”
“Even though we chose the appropriate tyre on which to race both drivers still suffered with inconsistent balance throughout,” McLaren Mercedes team boss Ron Dennis said.
“Kimi’s tyre failure and the damage inflicted on the left rear braking duct effectively put him out of a points position. It was a stark contrast to our performance last weekend. The team will focus on the next event – there are still races left to win.”
Raikkonen revelled in his early battle with Juan-Pablo Montoya.
“I got a good getaway and managed to get ahead of Montoya to claim fourth,” said Raikkonen. “We had a great battle where we were side-by-side from turn six until turn 12 but he was quicker than me and in the end he managed to get in front.
“I was comfortable with fifth place when I had a puncture but managed to get the car back to the pits. However, in the process the car incurred some damage to the floor, the bodywork and the brake duct. On lap 62 I lost control of the car at the last corner at that was the end of my race.