Coulthard calls for engine rule re-think

The Red Bull Racing driver had endured a frustrating afternoon at Sakhir, mostly affected by a major flat-spot on his right front tyre that dropped him to 10th overall, but it got worse after the chequered after he suffered an engine problem.

With a new power-unit needed for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, Coulthard is facing the prospect of starting from the back of the grid before the action has even begun.

Coulthard bumped into FIA president Max Mosley immediately after the race in Bahrain to express his disappointment about the situation, and later called on the sport's governing body to consider a change to the 10-place grid penalty system.

"I saw Max and jokingly said you need to sort this out," explained Coulthard. "For me I was 14th on the grid and, if you give me 10 places, then I am at the back. I am not driving a McLaren and I cannot go from there to third place.

"I understand the regulations to try and make people use less engines, but I think there should be a handicap penalty based on a performance at a GP. Maybe it could be percentage to the fastest time, but just 10 places is wrong. The guys at the front only ever get to just outside the top 10 whereas we always have to go to the back."

Looking back at the race, Coulthard admitted there was some encouragement in seeing teammate Christian Klien get to the chequered flag - even though his own race was a disappointment.

Klien's performance was the first time the RB2 had completed a full race distance following the troubled pre-season testing build-up.

"I think it is important after all the difficulties that we had to get one point," added Coulthard. "It is kind of like we have got the first part of the job done.

"For me, my race was not very enjoyable. I really felt like I was learning about the car because it is the longest runs I have done with it, so I had a bit of a journey into the unknown.

"I never really felt comfortable all weekend and, to add insult to the rest of it, I flat-spotted my front when I was battling with Nick Heidfeld right down to the metal in the wheel.

"My visibility was zero and I had the conversation with the team, was I better pitting and getting a new set of tyres versus staying on track? With hindsight being a wonderful thing maybe I should have pitted and put new tyres on."