DC admits McLaren is third in pecking order

The McLaren ace was heading for a fourth place finish until a stop-and-go penalty for Ralf Schumacher handed him third positon. At the previous round in Canada, Coulthard retired while his McLaren team mate came home third while Williams and Ferrari scrapped it out for the lead.

Asked if Williams had got ahead of McLaren, Coulthard said: "The performance in the last two races is the answer to that question. We haven't just sat back because we couldn't be bothered. We haven't been as competitive as we would have liked in the last two races. Clearly in Canada we did not know how fast I could have run because I had problems with the suspension.

"We weren't quick in qualifying here and clearly in the race we weren't a match for them either. So it was really a recovery position this weekend and try and understand how we can improve for the next race at Magny Cours. However we are not going to sit back and feel sorry for ourselves, but work hard.

However, Coulthard believes that despite the performance for Sir Frank Williams' team, he can still win the world title even though he slipped 24 points behind championship leader Michael Schumacher at the Nurburgring.

With nine races gone and eight still to run, Coulthard maintains that the fight for the world championship is far from over.

"Today's result doesn't mean the championship is over," he said after Sunday's race, "as there are lots of races to go - so I'm not too downbeat."

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