DC looks on the bright side

David Coulthard insists that he has every reason to be encouraged by his performance in qualifying for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix, despite only lining up seventh for the final race of 2001

The Scot said he was pleased to be closer to the pace of McLaren team mate Mika Hakkinen at the Suzuka track than he has ever been before. Coulthard has always been in the Finn's shadow at the circuit in previous years.

"I'm a bit closer to Mika relative to previous years, and he's pretty useful round here, so it's not too bad," he said.

With Rubens Barrichello starting fourth, Coulthard could be under threat of losing second place in the championship. The Brazilian is seven points behind him in the title standings and must win to stand any chance of stealing the place. His Ferrari team mate Michael Schumacher has offered to help him, if he can.

But Coulthard refused to play up the battle, maintaining that second place in the championship is of no interest to him.

"I'm sorry, but there is no battle for second," he said. "You do what you can in Formula 1 to win, and that's all that matters. As far as I'm concerned the main battle was decided back in Hungary [when Schumacher clinched the world championship]."