02/07/2004
NEWS STORY
Team McLaren Mercedes driver David Coulthard finished today's second free practice session in seventh position after setting a fastest time of 1:16.464. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen was ninth with a time of 1:16.794. Due to wet weather both cars only completed an installation lap in the first session and again rain limited running in the second practice with David completing a total of eight laps and Kimi ten.
David Coulthard: "Our running today was affected by the wet weather, so there is very little data to work with, but it's the same for everybody. Fortunately we don't have to make a decision about tyres until lunchtime tomorrow, so hopefully the weather will stay dry. However, so far so good, but we will only really know how good the 19B is once we have completed qualifying and the race."
Kimi Raikkonen: "We only did one run today because of the weather, which is a shame. However the car felt good, but that is all I can say at the moment. There is definitely more to come as I didn't even push particularly hard. It's difficult to say how big a step forward we have taken, but it should become clear as the weekend progresses."
Ron Dennis; "Our weather forecast today proved to be quite accurate. As a result we limited our running to the very short dry period in the second session. Consistent with the regulations tyre choice has been deferred until after tomorrow's two practice sessions which our forecasters believe will be dry. Both drivers found their cars devoid of any serious negative handling characteristics, so our normal set-up work will be incorporated into tomorrow's tyre programme."
Norbert Haug: "Not a bad beginning considering the limited amount of laps we completed in the second session with Kimi doing ten and David eight laps. It's too early to judge the car's performance in comparison to the opposition."