Coulthard Rules Out Points Finish

The Scot, a surprising fourth in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, got another point-scoring result in Malaysia two weeks ago, finishing in sixth position.

He looks unlikely to repeat the feat this time, however, after struggling in the opening qualifying session at the Sakhir circuit.

Coulthard was only 14th quickest while his teammate Christian Klien was eighth.

"We made some changes in the morning sessions so we improved going into qualifying but I wasn't able to nail the first and last sector," Coulthard told reporters after qualifying.

"I think generally Christian has been very comfortable with his car and therefore has extracted a very good lap time from the car and I don't think I would have been able to do the same time, but I could have been further up and ultimately that is what happens ­ when you get a bit out of sorts you pay the price."

The Scot says will now rely on strategy but admits his chances of finishing in the points are slim.

"You can now play with your strategy, but you don't know what other people are doing, so it is the question of do you go light and get extra grid positions then maybe pay a penalty later in the race when people are stopping or do you fuel it up and hope you stay out longer than the others.

"We will make our decision based on the information we have tonight and tomorrow we will know if we made the right one or not, but for now, no question, from where we are it will be very difficult to score any points this weekend."