Coulthard to race revised HANS device.

David Coulthard has revealed a personalised HANS device ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, designed to reduce some of the discomfort that has prompted his rivals to questioned its value.

The Scot confirmed that he had been working closely with McLaren's seat-belt supplier to come up with a system that improved the comfort of the controversial safety device, after echoing complaints from his peers that the carbon-fibre unit caused problems when fitted in a Formula One car.

Continuing the sport's trend for innovation, Coulthard revealed a new 'double belt' system which allows him to sandwich the arms of the HANS device between a padded under belt and a second strap that holds it in place as it would for any of the other 19 drivers in the field. The benefit, according to the Scot, is that he no longer has the arms of the device pressing down on his collarbones - a problem that has caused Sauber's Nick Heidfeld to complain of a loss of feeling after just a couple of laps of use.

At present, Coulthard is the only driver on the grid to have adapted his unit in this way, but he admits that he expects the rest of the field to follow suit in the coming weeks as the FIA shows no sign of relenting on the mandatory use of HANS.