Coulthard backs Hakkinen for world title

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Agence France-Presse

MILAN (Oct 26, 1998 - 11:38 EST) - David Coulthard claims Ferrari have no
real chance of beating McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen to the world title in
Japan on Sunday.

Hakkinen leads Michael Schumacher by four points going into the final race
in Suzuka. Schumacher needs to win and hope that either teammate Eddie
Irvine or another driver stops the Finn from finishing second.

Both teams have meanwhile been working flat out for weeks to try and gain a
few tenths of a second in their bid for Formula One glory.

"The really interesting thing about Suzuka on Sunday will be to
compare the progress we've made with what Ferrari have managed,"
Coulthard said. "I'm curious to see who has done better.

"But I think Mika is going to be fine. The world title is every
driver's ambition, and you win it by making fewer mistakes than all the
others.

"Mika has worked hard, has made few mistakes and has always been top
of the standings."

Coulthard's confidence has also been boosted by McLaren's recent tests in Barcelona.

"We did very well," he said. "The new tyres we chose for
Suzuka are really incredible. We've made more progress with them alone than
with all the other improvements we've made this season."

Dismissing Ferrari's current enthusiasm, he said: "I don't see how
Ferrari could be more competitive than they were a month ago. There's no
reason to think they will be faster than us.

"I just don't see how they could have improved so much in such a short
time and think they can put two men in front of us."

And the Scot insisted: "We've got the best car. We adapted to the new
tyres better right from the very first race and since the last grand prix
we've been focussing all our technical resources on a car which was already
perfect.

"If Ferrari have closed the gap or overtaken us, then we will found
out on Friday," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I would be
very surprised."

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