Coulthard

MONTREAL -- David Coulthard is in top form because the weight of a world title battle has been lifted from his shoulders, said McLaren team chief Ron Dennis after the Canadian Grand Prix.

"When you are not contending for the world championship it does reduce the pressure and allows you to drive better," Dennis told reporters after his British driver finished second behind Michael Schumacher at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"Driving with the pressure of having a chance to win the world championship increases the task. I'm not saying he can't win the world championship, but it is mathematically difficult and therefore he starts every race with the desire to finish well but also enjoy it.

"That takes away stress and pressure and that is the environment in which you make mistakes, so that is why he is driving so well."

Sunday's result moved Coulthard to within one point of second place in the world championship, but Dennis said it was unlikely the Scot would be able to replicate his early-season 2001 title challenge this year.

Coulthard is back in form as the championship heads towards its halfway point this season, with his second place in Montreal following victory in the preceding Monaco Grand Prix.

His chances of fighting Schumacher for the 2002 championship received an early blow in the opening race of the season in Australia, where his McLaren car was off the pace and he retired with gearbox problems.

But, after failing to finish the first two races, he has put together a run of five points-scoring finishes, with two sixths and three visits to the podium in first, second and third positions.

He is now fourth in the championship with 26 points, one point behind the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who both failed to score points at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. McLaren are third in the manufacturers' standings.

Dennis said: "We come to every race expecting to win it, irrespective of how difficult that target is. But overall it is not about expecting a result, it is about optimizing.

"It is the way you play any Grand Prix irrelevant of your competitiveness. What you are trying to do is enhance your chances of winning by adopting a certain strategy. That's what you do.

"I think both drivers will occupy podium positions this year, but whether we are able to win any more races is something that is difficult to grasp in one's mind at the moment."