Coulthard Welcomes Unexpected Podium

Scot David Coulthard admitted he was somewhat surprised at finishing on the podium at Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix after struggling in Saturday's qualifying.

The McLaren driver, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, had posted a disappointing eighth quickest time on Saturday at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, but Coulthard recovered well in the race to score his fourth podium finish of the season.

His second place also allowed Coulthard to move to within only one point of second-placed drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in the Championship standings after the first eight races of the year.

"I didn't think in a straight fight I'd be on the podium," said the Scot. "But I was pretty confident, even though I started eighth, that I'd finish in the points. As in Monaco our launch control system worked well and I gained two places at the start.

"In the early stages I was struggling with oversteer and had to be careful allowing me to save the brakes which benefited me later. Following my pitstop I was able to get out in front of Kimi and then had a good battle with Barrichello.

"I braked as late as possible and missed the chicane and was prepared to move over if Rubens had made it, but Rubens made the same mistake and therefore I didn't gain any advantage."

Coulthard's teammate Kimi Raikkonen could finally finish a race after six consecutive retirements. However, the Finn could not escape trouble in this race either, and had a problem with the fuel rig that forced him to run slowly in the final part of the race.

In the end, Raikkonen was happy with fourth place.

"First of all I'm pleased to finish the race," he said, it's been some time. I made a good start and had an enjoyable battle with Ralf Schumacher in the opening stages and managed to keep him behind me.

"However we had a problem with the fuel rig during my pit stop and subsequently didn't take enough fuel on board. The team told me to conserve fuel, which slowed me down considerably and cost me a podium position. However to finish in the points was a nice way to end the weekend."