Coulthard Bemused by Car Problems

David Coulthard was left scratching his head at the end of practice for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on Friday after being left in the dark by problems affecting his McLaren car.

The McLaren driver was pitched into a high-speed spin during the afternoon practice session as he pushed to set a quick lap time and was fortunate to avoid crashing into tyre barriers or a gravel run-off area.

But Coulthard admitted that his McLaren team were baffled by the problems affecting his car after he spun twice at the second corner and also went off track on other occasions.

"I haven't had a spin in a long time so it is a bit strange," said Coulthard, whose teammate Kimi Raikkonen ended the day second quickest behind championship leader Michael Schumacher of Ferrari.

"The first one was very strange, very high speed, just hit the brakes and went - thankfully there was no barrier and no gravel there otherwise it could have got messy. It is a bit bizarre.

"All I can do is try to react to how the car feels. If it is chucking me off the circuit then there has to be a reason for that. I am not consciously out there trying to not get round the lap - I just want to finish the lap, get a lap time and take it from there. But definitely it is something strange."

Coulthard admits he will be in for a difficult race weekend at Hockenheim unless the problems can be rectified before Saturday morning practice.

"If we find something and fix it it is retrievable but if they don't we are in for a difficult weekend," Coulthard. "There is some evidence of some catching on the front suspension so they are going to check the clearances to see if that is a problem.

"But I think certainly from Kimi's run we look quite competitive. He is obviously driving a different car."