Coulthard says blocking not intentional

The Red Bull Racing driver had his times from Q2 deleted after the race stewards felt he had impeded his Renault rivals in the final moments of that session.

But Coulthard has expressed his innocence - and blamed a miscommunication with his team for the situation.

"Obviously I didn't know he was on a timed lap otherwise I would clearly have got out of the way," Coulthard told ITV after the session. "There was a message from the team, and I clearly didn't get the correct information."

Although the penalty means Coulthard will now start a lowly 16th on the grid, he claims he cannot complain much about it because he has been one the key figures in trying to get FIA race director Charlie Whiting to be more strict with blocking.

"We asked Charlie to be firm on blocking because in Barcelona he wasn't. It is down to the referee, so you have to accept the penalty as it happened.

"What is clear is that I wasn't trying to screw anyone's lap - it was just a lack of communication."

Coulthard's action left the Renault team deeply unimpressed, with director of engineering Pat Symonds furious that Kovalainen's chances of making it through to Q3 were wrecked by what happened.

"David is a very nice guy," said Symonds. "But let's face it, he is the most experienced guy in F1 and he is the loudest about mirrors and blue flags - so it is unbelievable what he did. It is a shame for Heikki, who has had a difficult weekend, and it is a pity."

Symonds said he had no gripes with the way that Coulthard's penalty meant that it was Jenson Button who was gifted the chance to drive in Q3, rather than Kovalainen.

"It is a not a strange decision, it is a fact of life," he said. "If you suffer as a result of what someone else has done, you cannot get that back. It is not always fair, but there is not much else you can do about it.

"You cannot just imagine the time that Heikki would have done and then say that he should go into that position."