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Old 15th March 2004, 22:05   #1
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'My engine was rev-limited'
Confesses Coulthard

David Coulthard has all-but confessed that his Formula One engine was rev-limited to preserve reliability at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

The Scot finished eighth in his new McLaren but sources report that the dainty Mercedes V10 was running a tad-over 17,000rpm on the Albert Park street-circuit.

BMW, by contrast, tipped the scales at 19,000rpm, said its competition director.

BACKING OUT

'You'll have to ask Ilmor how much they were backing out,' said Coulthard.

The 32-year-old nonetheless told Autosport that Mercedes and McLaren are 'not where we should be' in any of the areas of performance or reliability.

'We don't have a quick enough package at the moment, whether that be car or engine,' he told the magazine, whilst also slamming the new one-engine rule.

He said: 'As a driver you want to drive - you want to be out there.

'The spectators want to see the cars. That's where the action is.'


Article sourced from www.f1-live.com
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Old 15th March 2004, 22:08   #2
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What on earth have Mclaren and Mercedes been smoking? Firstly they let Kimi (David aint no title contender) fight for the championship in a 1 year old car! Then they take 2 odd years to develop a new car with a radical design (awesome looking IMHO). Then come D-Day...Guess what? Not only are they slower than their immediate competitors, but even BAR and Renault leave them in the dust.

For all that talk about reliability, Kimi sure was right when he made a lone prediction about not making it to the finish line:O

Forget it this year too, Kimi...Now even Ron seems to be speaking the Coulthard language i.e. "Next year will be our year"

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Old 16th March 2004, 00:47   #3
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Hey GTO

Notice one thing, McLaren over the past 2-3 years has been launching modified or actual versions of their year cars somewhere during the middle of the season, when it should be done right at the start of the season. So every season they are stuck with the B-version (MP4/18B and so on) of the previous season which is modified but isnt the new car for the new season which sees a debut somewhere around the halfway mark of the season.

Meanwhile other teams have fresh new cars that are naturally faster and more capable ensuring that they take away the chunk of the points while McLaren starts its fight only mid-season, way too late to do anything, forget winning the championship. This tendency of McLaren has actually got to the gut of Mercedes who have given McLaren the warning: get us a championship before 2007 or we quit this partnership. Rumour also in F1 circles is that if Mercedes does decide to split, it might head to Sauber which was its previous ally.

Things are certainly strange with the Silver and Black team.

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Old 16th March 2004, 01:04   #4
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Well put, Revv. But if I was Mr. Peter Sauber there is no way on earth I would give up the reliable and powerful Ferrari engines for Merc (sorry Ilmor) powerplants.

Thats ofcourse, unless they also throw in Adrian Newey!

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Old 16th March 2004, 01:09   #5
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Sad but ttrue Mclaren Mercedes are really way behind.... Where are days of Mika gone?

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Old 16th March 2004, 02:08   #6
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yeah.. what are they upto ?
and what did montoya see in them ?

they still have the money to invest.. they shudnt be down on engine power like this..

but its time other teams gave them a run for their money..

Go Renault !
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Old 16th March 2004, 12:20   #7
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I suspect even BAR will go ahead of Mclaren if this is the way they carry on.. Mclaren pull up ur socks...

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