Coulthard rues costly timing error

Coulthard qualified down in 20th position after failing to complete his final flying lap, as he crossed the start/finish line when the time was up.

During his first run, he had been slowed down by teammate Mark Webber.

"For the first timed lap I went out behind Mark's car," said Coulthard. "He aborted the lap when he locked up, so I got close to the back of him and was held up. I started my second timed lap even closer to him than on the first, so it wasn't a clean run.

"We didn't get the timing quite right for me to start my final lap, I got the chequered flag just as I came round the last corner to begin it. But, it's happened now, it's over, and we'll get with tomorrow.

"It's not something that's happened before and I doubt it will happen again."

Webber, meanwhile, enjoyed a much better day, the Australian finishing in sixth position.

"It started to come together in Q2 today and we were able to get into the final top ten, which is great because the midfield is so tight at the moment," he said.

"We're happy with what we've done today. We'll be racing against Toyota, Renault and Williams tomorrow and trying to get some points from them."