McLaren Fail to Repeat French GP Feat

The McLaren team were unable to repeat the feat of the French Grand Prix in Sunday's race in Germany, and had to be content with a disappointing fifth place for David Coulthard.

"A bad weekend compared to Magny-Cours, but I think fifth was the best we could do in the circumstances," said the Scot after the race. "My first set of tyres was blistering a bit so we made a few adjustments in the pitstop.

"I was then quick in my middle stint compared to the other Michelin runners but really two points was all there was in it today."

At Magny-Cours last Sunday, the Woking-based team fought for their second victory of the season, with Finn Kimi Raikkonen losing the lead just five laps from the end after running over spilt oil.

In Germany on Sunday, things were very different for McLaren, with Coulthard finishing one lap down.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, had a troubled race but starred one of the highlights of the race when fighting for fourth place with Juan Pablo Montoya. The Finn shut the door repeatedly on Montoya, who even kept alongside on the grass, before the Colombian finally muscled past with their cars almost touching.

Raikkonen provided later heroics of his own when his rear left tyre punctured and he carried on, nursing the car to the pits before retiring on lap 60 when he lost control of his McLaren.

"I was comfortable in fifth place when all of a sudden I had a puncture but managed to get the car back to the pits," he explained. "However in the process the car incurred some damage to the floor, the bodywork and the brake duct.

"However I was still able to do reasonably quick lap times. On lap 62 I lost control of the car at the last corner and that was the end of my race."