David Coulthard says he believes that his Red Bull team could be in a position to challenge for third place in the championship this year following winter testing in Barcelona.
He has talked about the 2008 season, life at Red Bull and the teams he sees as his main competition in an exclusive interview for the FormulaOne.com official website.
When asked what he thought about the RB4 following testing, he said: “We had a much better winter than last year, so our preparations are significantly advanced.
“My benchmark for this year is very clear. You have the winner of the race and you have the guy who is last, and the only time you can be satisfied is when you win – anything else is a step in the team’s development.
“And as long as I feel that the team is moving forward each year, and closing the gap to the quickest team by hopefully scoring more points, then I feel that we are making progress.”
When asked which teams would be challenging for the fifth and sixth grid slots behind Ferrari and McLaren, he said he thought Williams, Renault and probably Toyota would be in the running.
“I don’t know where BMW Sauber are right now, if they are slightly in front of us or not.
“But, taking it as given that Ferrari and McLaren have an advantage, that group just mentioned is fighting over fifth to 10th place. We will have to wait for the Melbourne qualifying to see what happens. I would say – let’s go to Oz!”
He also gave his thoughts on Red Bull’s notorious reliability issues, his chances of scoring points at Melbourne and how the suggestion that Sebastian Vettel should drive in his place after his neck injury was actually his idea. Read the full interview here >>
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