Coulthard signals his intent

On Thursday David Coulthard sent out the message that he would go all out to claim a second consecutive Belgian Grand Prix and yesterday, in free practice ahead of Sunday's race at Spa, the Scot underlined his intentions by recording the day's fastest time.

Coulthard, who has seen his championship challenge steadily eroded by team-mate Mika Hakkinen over the course of the last three races, finished the day's sessions over four tenths of a second quicker than the Finn. The Scot though, insisted that he was simply working through his normal programme and that there was nothing exceptional about his time.

"We went through the planned programme and got a good balance, I think," he said. "In the second session one of my tyres received a small cut, which was why I didn't do a lot of flat-out laps. We also did a few practice starts and I believe we're in good shape." Second-placed Hakkinen was also happy with his day, although the Finn left his progress late, spending most of the morning over a second behind his team-mate.

"I'm very happy with the work I've done, but it's still early days," he said. "We tried a number of different set-ups to find the right balance and continuously improved the car."

The rivalry between the McLaren team-mates is the sharpest in their five-year partnership. But while both have an increasingly positive chance of taking the title, team boss Ron Dennis yesterday insisted that their rivalry would not get in the way of the team's goals.

"Whilst there is a strict policy of equality which has always existed in McLaren, the fact is that the drivers, indeed all of the drivers at McLaren since 1981, have within their contracts the obligation to follow any instruction given by the appropriate person from the pit wall. I don't know exactly how many times that has happened, probably less than five times in the last 10 years, and I don't see it being required in the remaining races."

The first aim of the team will be to frustrate Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, aiming for his fifth win at Spa and looking to regain the championship lead. Yesterday the German, who is just two points behind Hakkinen in the title race, finished fifth overall, behind the McLarens and also third-placed Johnny Herbert and BAR's Jacques Villeneuve. Schumacher was unconcerned about his time, however, insisting that he had concentrated on finding the right compromise on balance.

"The car is not bad but we need to find a good balance for the medium-speed corners and the chicane," he said.

For Jordan, Jarno Trulli's 10th place, after a morning session third, was encouraging. Trulli admitted his day's work left him hopeful for a productive weekend. "The car was competitive straightaway and we were able to do some quick times this morning. The whole thing was very positive and I'm very happy with what we've learned," he said.

It was a less perfect outing for the Italian's team-mate Heinz Harald Frentzen, however. The German was sidelined twice in the morning session with a faulty pressure sensor and then had problems with the differential and was unable to find the balance he required in the afternoon, finishing the day 17th. Eddie Irvine suffered a similarly stressful day, finishing a tenth ahead of Frentzen and admitting that he had got lost on set-up.

"It's difficult to say where we really stand in relation to our rivals because although I ran through a series of set-up changes, I don't have a clear indication because tyre degradation is clouding the picture," said the Irishman. "Johnny (Herbert) made a significant move up the time sheets at the end which we can learn from. Sixteenth place may not be pretty reading, but we've got a lot more to come."