Coulthard surprised by Canada point

An air valve problem on his Ferrari power-unit forced an engine change before the start of the race, putting him right to the back of the field.

But after a spirited performance, thanks to which he was able to pick his way past rivals who made mistakes on the tricky track surface, Coulthard grabbed eighth place after a side-by-side duel with Jenson Button into the final chicane.

That move came just moments after Coulthard's race engineer had said over the radio: "Go get him!"

Coulthard said: "Mark (Hutcheson) was definitely giving me plenty of encouragement.

"Jenson got sucked a little bit wide and that gave me a little bit of momentum. While I knew I was never going to have the legs to actually stream past him on the straight, I knew I had to get my car in place because if he had held me to the outside there was no way to get past.

"So I held it to the inside and then all you have to do is wait until they brake and, providing they don't brake at 50 metres, you will then make the corner.

"I was very happy with that because I never expected a point from last on the grid."

Coulthard sees no reason why he cannot aim for more points in Indianapolis this weekend.

"It is a very similar nature of circuit," he said. "The top speeds are a little bit higher, but I would expect us to be battling around in the midfield and trying to get a point."