Schumacher deals psychological blow to Coulthard

Whether Schumacher was trying to detract from Coulthard's victory or not, the German clearly chose his words wisely in order that they would cause maximum psychological damage.

Talking to the Daily Mail Schumacher said: "I am disappointed but not too much. It's true that I could have picked up 10 points - but the driver I consider my main rival could also have done so."

Schumacher was implying of course that he considered Coulthard's McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen as his main threat for the Championship. Coulthard has had to endure the last two seasons in Hakkinen's shadow, but has stepped out of the shade this year with two wins and a current position above Hakkinen in the World Championship.

Schumacher is well known for his mind game tactics. He constantly made reference to the superiority of Damon Hill's Williams in 1995 to detract from Hill's driving ability. The Ferrari driver also played down the quality of his own car in 1997 when up against Jacques Villeneuve, when in fact the F310B was competitive.

Coulthard has been around long enough to be party to Schumacher's games and seemed suitably unaffected. In response to the comments, he said: "I'm well used to Michael's mind games and his comments have absolutely no effect on me. I have him in my sights and intend to keep him there for the rest of the season."

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