Coulthard happy after first day

But he still declared himself satisfied with the work they had done on the opening day of the biggest race of the year.

The Scot wound up behind the two men who are ahead of him in the championship - Mika Hakkinen fastest and Michael Schumacher second.

"It was an enjoyable first day," said the Scot.

"It's a shame I didn't get a clear lap towards the end of the session because I believe I could have improved my time."

"You are always close to the barriers here and I even tapped one going up to Casino Square, luckily no damage was done."

Ron Dennis added: "We had no real mechanical problems today but encountered the normal frustrations of traffic and the ever-changing track conditions."

And he even muttered a prayer to the weather God for it to remain fine for qualifying and race as Monaco remained bathed in sunshine.