But when McLaren moved to the front of the field the following year, Coulthard was left trailing in the wake of his Finnish team-mate. While Hakkinen chalked up win after win on his way to back to back world championships, DC managed only three victories in two years.
Despite last season's improvement, the jury is still out on Coulthard. Unless he can become more consistent, 2001 could be his last year with F1's top team.