I'll Need a Miracle to Win, Says Coulthard

McLaren's David Coulthard believes only a miracle could help him winning the German Grand Prix on Sunday following a disappointing qualifying today.

The Scot could only manage to set the fifth quickest time at the Hockenheim circuit, right behind Championship rival Michael Schumacher, who was also unable to fight the the BMW-powered Williams, who crushed their opposition by securing their first front row in almost four years.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya clinched his first career pole position ahead of Ralf Schumacher, with Coulthard's teammate Mika Hakkinen in third place more than half a second behind the Williams duo. Being more than 1.5 seconds off the pace, Coulthard will be praying for a miracle to win Sunday's race.

"I need a miracle, but sometimes they do happen, as Rubens [Barrichello] showed last year in winning the race after starting from 18th," said Coulthard. "So as far as I'm concerned it is also still possible to win the Championship, but clearly I am not very quick here, which is not exactly the right ingredient when you go looking for a race victory."

Coulthard is 37 points behind Schumacher in the standings with six races remaining, but the Scot could find some consolation in the fact that the German Ferrari driver was also off the pace today. The triple World Champion said after the race he did not expect to match the pace of the Williams.

"If Williams keep up this performance in the race then I expect them to disappear into the distance," he said.