The car was driven by Briton David Coulthard and Finn Kimi Räikkönen in both seasons.

[2] The team did not perform as well as expected in 2002, in a season dominated by Ferrari, and due to the unreliability of the car; they eventually finished third in the Constructors' Championship with 65 points and one victory (in Monaco).

Using a development version of the car, the MP4-17D, the 2003 season started very promisingly with wins at the first two grands prix of the year, one each for Coulthard and Räikkönen.

As a result, the team gradually fell slightly further back as the season progressed, allowing rivals, developing their cars more efficiently, to catch up.

Despite the livery design being similar, there were notable sponsorship differences, such as Computer Associates (2002) and Siemens Mobile (2003) branding on the bargeboards.