Coulthard resists dwelling on past

Home comforts only partially explain David Coulthard's contentment here. Even the conviction that he, rather than Damon Hill, would have been leading the world championship had he still been driving with Williams does not, apparently, fester inside the Scotsman turned Monte Carlo resident.

After the luxury of a leisurely breakfast at his apartment, he makes the two-minute trip to work and the ongoing crusade of confounding those who believed his move to McLaren would consign him to obscurity as quickly and spectacularly as he has risen to prominence.

Coulthard has proved himself equal to the task of competing with his much-vaunted team-mate, Mika Hakkinen, outpacing the Finn in the last two races and trailing him by less than a tenth of a second in practice for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix. He feels that form has earned him Hakkinen's respect and that together they are carrying the cause of Formula One's most progressive team.

Hill and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher may, of course, restore familiar order in today's qualifying session, but Coulthard's optimism is unshakable. "We are the most improved team," he said. "We are on the steepest curve, and it's good for us because maybe at the beginning of the year we were wondering where the light at the end of the tunnel was. But we stuck to the programme."

Coulthard has diligently stuck to his. "If you don't believe you can make that jump forward then you can't do this job. You have to have the self-belief and you have to believe in the people you are going to work with, otherwise you're not going to get yourself in the position where you have the confidence to do the job.

"I knew deep down the ultimate test would be how I compared with my team- mate,and Mika's held in a much higher regard in terms of raw speed and talent than Damon is. Whether that's absolutely justified or not will probably be confirmed or re-addressed during the course of my partnership with him.

"The perception was that I was not fast because I spent the first half of last season being behind Damon and he's not regarded as being blindingly fast. I think I am quick and hopefully I can confirm that by being quick alongside Mika."

Much as he may distinguish himself at McLaren, he cannot yet aspire to the championship that beckons for Hill. He does not, however, expend energy lamenting what might have been.

"I've never been someone who looks back, or dwells on the past. When something's happened, it's happened. You don't see me, like Jean Alesi, who wears his heart on his sleeve, throwing my gloves to the ground and kicking my helmet. My highs and lows are quite close together. I use all my energy making myself better, because the only thing that's going to prolong my career in Formula One and hopefully give me the chance to be in for the world championship is by doing my job.

"I believe Damon is a fitter, more confident guy this year, but I think I am as well and that I would have started where I finished last year, which would have been running with him, or even slightly quicker in qualifying, and with more experience, hopefully not making the mistakes I did last year. So yeah, I think I could be leading the championship. But that's not the situation. It just serves to boost my confidence when the times aren't there. You have to believe in yourself anyway."

Coulthard is one of a number who believe they can win tomorrow. Anyone who has a good start - and no one has been starting better than Coulthard - will be difficult to overtake here. Schumacher, who has so far played down his prospects at Ferrari, feels he can complete a hat-trick of victories around the streets.

The defending champion said: "I have said I do not expect to be in a position to win races consistently until mid-season, but the circumstances on this circuit could make it possible to win here again. I shall certainly be trying my best."