23/10/02: McLaren boss Ron Dennis has praised David Coulthard for the way he has responded to the growing presence of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

In only his second season of Formula One, Raikkonen outqualified his vastly experienced team-mate 10-7, but Scot Coulthard notched the team's only win - at Monaco - and ended the year 17 points ahead of the Finn.

And Dennis told the BBC: "There is no doubt Kimi is developing into an outstanding Formula One competitor with a great future.

"By the same token David has responded to his presence in the team with precisely the balance that we would have expected from someone so seasoned in the ways of F1.

"It would have been disappointing if he had been comfortable with sometimes being outqualified by his team-mate. But he has certainly not been destabilised in any way by Kimi's presence."