JULY 17, 2001

DC still feisty after Silverstone disappointment

DAVID COULTHARD may have seen the last ghost of a chance of catching Michael Schumacher in this year's title race go up in smoke at the British Grand Prix, but he still thought that putting the Ferraris out on a single stop strategy was an underestimation of the McLaren's pace.

Michael Schumacher was consistently lapping in the 1m 24s bracket throughout Friday's Free Practice period, as were the McLarens, but the McLaren team's recent emphasis on the correcting their lack of qualifying pace on Friday may have lulled Ferrari into a false sense of security.

During the race Mika Hakkinen took a commanding lead, constantly lapping in between a mid-1m 23s and low 1m 24s, while Schumacher was equally consistently two seconds off the Finn's pace.

Said Coulthard, who was knocked out of contention on the opening lap by Jordan's Jarno Trulli: "Their strategy was completely wrong, there is no question about it, there is just absolutely no logic in going so late in this situation unless it's me they were holding up. I would have thought that the evidence of our performances on Friday and Saturday was that we had a quick race car."