Coulthard in two minds after qualifying third

The Scotsman crashed in the morning practice session and lost time that effectively he never made up around this twisting street circuit.

But it was a steely performance that saw him collar third at the 11th hour.

'Third place is not what I came here for but it could have been worse because I was sixth at one stage,' he said.

But Coulthard, who was a strong contender for victory here last year before his engine blew, still has his sights set on victory.

'I was happy to jump so far forward at the end, so rather than being disappointed I am very relieved.'

'It was difficult having had an off this morning and having to catch up. I know there was more to be found but you cannot make big steps here, you have to go forward in little ones all the time.'

'If I wanted to make excuses I could say there was oil on the rear tyres. It was the only time I hadn't hit the kerb and it just suddenly jumped sideways and tried to join the Ferrari pit.

'I could say it was the oil which caused the accident but I basically just ran out of road and time.

'The suspension was damaged in the accident but when they replaced it and fired the engine up they found the oil pressure was not there and had to change the engine.

Having heard Hakkinen make his quick defence by saying he raised his arm while speeding past the yellow flags and stricken Jordan, Coulthard quipped: 'I raised an arm and a leg.'