VALENCIA (Spain), Nov 28: David Coulthard smashed the Valencia lap record here on Thursday as the new McLaren finally got on the pace.

The MP4-19 should have been raced last season but a series of faults and setbacks meant McLaren had to use their 2002 machine throughout the campaign in which Kimi Raikkonen finished just behind Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari in the championship.

Despite flying to a best time on Thursday of 1min 10.021sec, Coulthard refused to be drawn into predictions on his hopes for the new car in 2004.

“Is it quick enough to win a Grand Prix? That’s the question and we just won’t know until we get to Melbourne and see what everyone else can do,” said the Scot.

Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya, who is set to replace Coulthard at McLaren in 2005, was second fastest in 1:10.218 with Renault’s Jarno Trulli third quickest in 1:10.419.

Valencia test times:

1. David Coulthard (GBR) McLaren 1:10.021 (51 laps), 2. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) Williams 1:10.218 (56), 3. Jarno Trulli (ITA) Renault 1:10.419 (109), 4. Ralf Schumacher (GER) Williams 1:10.601 (70), 5. Marc Gene (SPA) Williams 1:11.013 (88), 6. Franck Montagny (FRA) Renault 1:11.035 (115), 7. Alexander Wurz (AUT) McLaren 1:11.252 (95), 8. Ryan Briscoe (AUS) Toyota 1:11.562 (107), 9. Justin Wilson (GBR) Jaguar 1:11.866 (124), 10. Mark Webber (AUS) Jaguar 1:12.133 (79). —AFP