Coulthard's championship campaign begins in earnest

The Scot insist he will be a better and tougher driver for getting a full race distance under his belt at Imola.

And he intends to use that second place finish - his first full race distance since the end of season last November - as the launch pad for his world championship campaign.

'I'll be sharper for doing that race distance,' he said after ending up 13th this morning after missing the second half of the last practice session after clipping a barrier.

'November seems a long time ago now. It is like the way you psychologically build yourself up for something like winning your first race.

'You need to get yourself going, get points on the board before you start wanting to hang it all out.

If I hadn't scored at Imola for the third race in succession I would be coming here feeling even more uncomfortable. Now there is now something in the bank.

'Imola wasn't my best performance but it wasn't just because of that I lost the race. As everyone knows other drivers got in my way.'

A win here, he says, could catapult him back into the championship reckoning.

'I am only 10 points behind the leader. A win here and a non-finish by a few other people and suddenly you are back in there.

'I was actually further away from the leader this time last year.'