DC breaks Austrian duck in unexpected way

The McLaren-Mercedes driver leapt back into the title chase with the 11th victory of his career - and finally broke a string of four second places to triumph at the A1-Ring. And he did it by racing from seventh on the grid to take the lead when Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello pitted on lap 47

The Scot had started on a heavier fuel load and had kept the Ferrari in his sights. But with a clear track ahead of him when Barrichello peeled off, 'DC' put in a couple of blistering laps to eke out enough of a gap to leave the pits after his own stop with the lead.

Coulthard said the result would bring a boost to a team hit by the death of Mercedes Formula 1 engine-manufacturer Ilmor Engineering's co-founder Paul Morgan in a plane crash on Saturday afternoon in England.

By way of team orders, Michael Schumacher was allowed through into second by team mate Barrichello on the final lap to minimise the damage to his title lead. Nevertheless, that's now cut to just four points with 11 of the 17 rounds remaining and the season already over a third over.

Schumacher had had to claw his way back up the order after tangling with early leader Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams-BMW as he went for the lead and the Colombian defended by going ultra-late on the brakes.

"The reason I didn't spray the champagne on the podium was because we lost a very important member of team in Paul," said Coulthard. "But winning this Grand Prix is a big boost for the team at a time like this.

"I thought that if I would win, it would only be because of a tangle at the first corner and in my dream I came out first. But it happened because the Williams cars held up Ferrari.

"If there was a situation between Michael and Juan Pablo it was a question of when and where and luckily we were able to take advantage of that. I qualified seventh so it was important to start with heavy fuel and keep options open for the race and see what happened.

"The car is still quite difficult to drive because the sweet spot comes only for a few laps," he added. "It was an intense pace but that's what Grands Prix should be like. Nothing feels better than to feel you're battling in close quarters even if you are not winning."