'I would hand over victory' -Coulthard

Mika Hakkinen if team boss Ron Dennis demandsit.

But he says he has not given up on becoming world champion and victory this
weekend could spark a late charge for glory.

The Scot is 20 points behind series leader Eddie Irvine with five races to go, still mathematically in contention but with no realistic chance.

His team-mate Mika Hakkinen is the title favourite but currently trails Irvine by two points. Team orders at McLaren would almost certainly increase Hakkinen's chances of a second successive championship.

'If it comes to that I am prepared to take orders, I have done it before,'
said Coulthard, who had to back the Finn for much of 1998.

'But I am not prepared to step forward and offer to do it,' he added.

'As far as I am concerned the situation is very open. Eddie has an
advantage but Mika is close and I am not that far behind.

'If I win here we could be in for four really exciting races. It is far
from over for me but obviously I need to start winning.

'We dented Ferrari's confidence in Hungary with Mika winning and me coming
second and we have faster circuits coming up in Monza and Japan after this
one.

'They have a nifty little car but our car is better suited to the quicker
places.'

His record at Spa is not too impressive however, Coulthard's best finish here being a fourth place in 1994. He has spun or crashed in every Belgian Grand Prix he has contested.

Interestingly, neither of the title contenders have done well at Spa in the past. Eddie Irvine has never scored a point in the Belgian Grand Prix, while Mika Hakkinen has never won there either.

The Finn was on the podium in 1994 and 1996, but crashed out early in 1995 and 1998 and was disqualified in 1997.

The undoubted Spa master is Michael Schumacher, who has won the event five times. He also crossed the line first in 1994 but was later disqualified.

In his absence, Hakkinen, Irvine and Coulthard all have a chance to take their first wins on the finest circuit on the F1 calendar.