Coulthard set to stay.

David Coulthard has revealed that he is close to retaining his seat at McLaren for another season, although no deal is done yet.

The Scot admits that he has had indifferent seasons in the past, but hopes that his two wins and consistent performances in 2000 will be enough to convince McLaren that he is worth a contract extension. Team-mate Mika Hakkinen is already secure at the Woking team for next year, and Coulthard is keen to continue the longest running partnership currently operating in Formula One.

''I would like to stay at McLaren,'' he confirms, ''and it's the most probable option, even if I don't know where or when anything will be announced. All the team has to do is pick up the 'phone and the deal is done.

''There has been a lot of criticism pushed my way, saying that I am not hungry enough and unable to mount a championship challenge. I don't think that that is true. What I believe is that any young driver can show flashes of great performances early in their career, but they don't tend to be consistent until they have grown up a bit. That's the area I think I am getting into now - I'm still learning and I have a lot more to give.''

Coulthard currently trails championship leader Michael Schumacher by 22 points, and could only finish seventh in the recent Canadian Grand Prix, but he refuses to accept that the championship is out of his reach this season.

''We have to hope that Michael has some reliability problems, and that we can finish ahead of him in five or six races,'' he said, ''As we have seen with Mika, a big advantage can still be whittled away and the championship taken to the last race of the year.''