APRIL 30, 2001

Coulthard excels in calm control

DAVID COULTHARD's mature drive in the Spanish Grand Prix indicated that this could perhaps be the year that he claims his first world championship.

Coulthard has fallen short in the title race in recent years but after he battled back from last place to fifth in Spain it showed he has the mental temperament to be a champion.

An electronic glitch on the startline caused Coulthard's McLaren to stall and forced him to start from the back of the grid and after claiming several places at the start an incident forced him into the pits for a new nosecone and left him dead last again.

"I was so frustrated. I just wanted to throw the car in the gravel and go home," said Coulthard. "But you have got to get your head under control and I hope that is what I did.

"I had to take on the realization that it would be better to score points or at least try and get a good test session out of it."

Coulthard achieved his aim by claiming fifth place and in doing so he retained his record of being the only driver to have scored points in every race of the season so far.