Coulthard: Schumacher Should be Sincere

Briton David Coulthard on Wednesday backed Jacques Villeneuve's criticism of World Champion Michael Schumacher and said the German should not try to hide the Ferrari team's bias by pointing the finger elsewhere.

Schumacher has always been acknowledged as the number one driver for the Italian Scuderia since his move there in 1996. But he has received huge criticism following his decision to go ahead with team orders and take victory from teammate Rubens Barrichello in the Austrian Grand Prix.

And although Coulthard, who gave way to teammate Mika Hakkinen in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in 1998, insisted team orders are part of the game, he claimed Schumacher should think before blaming somebody else.

"I am not disagreeing at all that it looks bad and it is a difficult situation," said Coulthard. "But Michael was making out that he was not involved and he was very uncomfortable, but I think you have to be very careful.

"If you know your contract, you have absolute number one status, you have first call on the T-car, your teammate, and I have not seen the contract but when Eddie (Irvine) was there it was quite clear that he had to finish second to Michael in any position.

"So if you know that, how can you turn around and then go 'Oh, it is someone else'. You are trying to play both sides. You are trying to play (both) the sporting hero and the win at all costs hard man of motorsport. That, I think, is confusing."

Coulthard was quick to warn that banning team orders would be virtually impossible to do because any team could fake mistakes in pit stops or on the track to get around any such rule.

Instead, the Scot recommended that the sport should try, in effect, to re-brand itself and inform fans that everyone is a team player and they should expect team orders to be imposed at any time.

"The biggest thing that needs to be done really is to educate the followers of the sport as to all the small details," Coulthard said. "It is always the driver wins or loses and very rarely do you hear about the car.

"Maybe there should be a rule book in every programme saying 'in the event you think you are seeing a classic race, be aware that it may all change in the last five metres, so don't place your bets now, you know.'

"There is a massive grey area because of the contractual issues the drivers have with the teams. It was there in the good old days so you could say that nothing has really changed.

"I am a fan of the sport and I was involved in a scenario only a few years before, but it is a bit like your horse falling at the first in the Grand National. Is that unfair? You know it can happen, so if you know that teams can do that then how is it unfair?"