The belief that the Marlboro McLaren Mercedes team had reached a
turning point at the Grand Prix of Europe was confirmed last Sunday
when David Coulthard led the first part of the San Marino Grand Prix,
ahead of reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher and current
Championship leader Damon Hill.

Despite suffering the disappointment of seeing both David and this team
mate Mika Hakkinen retire later on in the race, the team could look
back on Imola with the knowledge and satisfaction that the
competitiveness of the MP4/11 and Mercedes-Benz V10 engine had once
again been significantly improved.

David Coulthard's performance throughout the weekend was particularly
reflective of this progress.  The Scotsman finished fourth in the
Saturday free practive, fourth in qualifying and third in the pre-race
warm-up - each time within a second of the fastest driver.  At the
start of the race, he made another superb get-away from behind Damon
Hill and took the lead at the second corner.  The Marlboro McLaren
Mercedes garage exulted: not only was David able to keep his pursuers
at bay, but he could do so comfortably until his first pitstop on lap
20.  Unfortunately, an hydraulic pressure problem forced him to retire
a few laps after his final scheduled pitstop.

"If it had not been for the mechanical failure, we would have had a
deserved podium finish", David commented.  "I am feeling more and more
confident all the time and things are looking a lot brighter for us
all."

These final words should bring comfort to Mika Hakkinen, who went
through an extremely difficult Grand Prix weekend.  Having set the
early pace for the team with fourth place in the Friday free practive,
and kept close to David in the Saturday morning session with fifth
place, he saw his hopes of obtaining a good grid position dashed by a
series of problems hampering his qualifying efforts.  Traffic on his
first run, engine trouble on his second, and a spin on third run whilst
on his fastest lap left him in an unhappy eleventh place.  His race
followed a similar trend, with more traffic, a 10 second penalty and an
an engine failure depriving him of a place on the points.

Both Mika and David have stayed in Imola for a week of testing prior to
the Monaco Grand Prix on 19th May - a race which will see McLaren
celebrate the 30th Anniversay of its participation in the FIA Formula
One World Championship.