Coulthard Baffled by Penalty

David Coulthard's Championship hopes received yet another blow at the French Grand Prix on Sunday, when the Scot was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

Coulthard had been unable to finish ahead of Championship rival Michael Schumacher in the last three races, and he suffered another disappointment on Sunday as he could only finish in fourth place while the German scored his sixth win of the year.

The McLaren driver, who was running third before making his first scheduled stop, admitted he was very surprised when he heard he had been penalised.

"I'm not sure whether the penalty came on the way into the pits or on the way out. I was very surprised when I got the call," said Coulthard, who was then unable to move ahead of Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. "I couldn't actually get close to him at any of the corners.

"It was only under breaking at the hairpin that I had the advantage, but I was never really close enough to make the attempt."

But Coulthard, now 31 points behind Schumacher with seven races remaining, is not ready to give up on his title hopes and believes things can still be turned around.

"All we can do is wait until the end of the season and see where things are," he added. "It's entirely feasible that (Schumacher) could not finish a few races. I need to keep doing the best I can and we will see how things lie after that.

"It hasn't been won or lost in Magny-Cours and it is as simple as that. It is still possible but of course it is going to be difficult."