Coulthard's Title Hopes Dashed Again

David Coulthard was understandably downbeat on Sunday after his Championship hopes received yet another blow at Sunday's German Grand Prix, where the Scot was forced to retire with a mechanical problem.

Coulthard, who had started today's race from fifth place, was hopeful of moving closer to Championship leader Michael Schumacher this weekend, and when the Ferrari driver retired from the race, the Scot looked set to do so.

However, only minutes later, Coulthard's engine let go, being unable to finish a race for the second consecutive time. The Scot was disappointed after a race which left him 37 points adrift of Schumacher with only five races (50 points) remaining in the season.

"It's been a difficult weekend and obviously I'm disappointed with today's result," said Coulthard. "I had a good battle with Rubens during the first couple of laps but was suffering from a lot of oversteer.

"I was aware that a number of cars were retiring but unfortunately I added to that statistic when the engine let go immediately after my pitstop. Hockenheim is a tough circuit which today's race result illustrates."

Teammate Mika Hakkinen completed a dismal Grand Prix for the McLaren team, the Finn also retiring with mechanical problems.

"I was very confident with the car and happy with the situation so it's a real shame that I was unable to finish the race," admitted Hakkinen. "All of a sudden I felt vibration behind me, saw smoke and the engine stopped. However there is no point in being depressed and I'm confident that we will be pushing hard for the rest of the season."

McLaren still lie in second place in the Constructors' Championship, but after Ralf Schumacher's win today, Williams are only ten points behind in third place.