Coulthard: next two races are critical

13 April 2012

David Coulthard must have known jollier birthdays. Tomorrow he turns 31, heavy in the knowledge that fate will not grant him endless years in which to win the Formula One world title. By his own admission, after just two races his 2002 championship hopes are all but in tatters, and Coulthard can hear his career clock ticking.

"You don't have an infinite amount of time to win grands prix,'' he said tellingly, after what he called "a terrible weekend'' in Malaysia nine days ago. As he flies out to South America tomorrow for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, he will presumably pass the flight by repeating to himself that it is always darkest before the dawn.

Never in his seven full seasons in Formula One has Coulthard known anything like it. With two grands prix gone he does not even have a race finish to his name, never mind anything so luxurious as a point.

The chassis of the McLaren MP4-17 is fine - excellent, even, according to some. But it is difficult to appreciate when the Mercedes engine inside it is so unreliable.

In Australia that engine indirectly caused the gearbox problem that ruined Coulthard's race. Nine days ago at Sepang, both Coulthard and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had engine failure. The tone for the weekend was signalled the moment Coulthard's engine failed after just one lap of practice on Friday. The sight of the Scot pushing the obstinate car off the track while his rivals sped past made for a grim metaphor.

Now by his own startling admission, if he does not win at Interlagos this weekend and in San Marino 14 days later, he can forget this year's world title. More startling still, so feeble has his McLaren's performance been that Coulthard says his best course is to aim for just one point in Brazil.

"In my mind I'm taking my helmet and smashing it around the garage in frustration,'' he fumed. "At the key moment the engine has let us down.

"It's already an outside chance (of the title) because I must win the next two races to get myself back into a normal hunt. And that's not going to be easy, is it? I'm two races down with no points, so I'm very, very frustrated. It's not good for the championship and what adds to the difficulty is that Williams are so strong. I almost need to go to Brazil saying I am just going to score a point, so then I am aiming for sixth and I can build from there. If I don't, then I am going to take so much energy out of myself aiming for the top.''

In theory, Coulthard has grounds for some optimism in Brazil and San Marino, having come first and second respectively at those circuits last year. But it will come as a blow to know that Michael Schumacher will at last be driving Ferrari's new car at Interlagos, having used the 2001 version in the opening two races. Reliability problems have been smoothed out, although Rubens Barrichello will be required to stick with the old model for his home grand prix.

"The new car is faster than the old one,'' said Schumacher happily. "I was already optimistic we could aim for victory in Brazil, but now I am even more so.''

Meantime, Coulthard is having trouble being taken seriously by the opposition at all. Ralf Schumacher, fresh from his victory in Sepang, did not think McLaren even worth mentioning when discussing Williams's main rivals for Brazil.

"That really hurt,'' said Coulthard. "My sights were on race wins and challenging for the championship. If everything is working, that is not a high goal. Winning races when everything is going well is easy, but when things are not going well, it's difficult.

"I am hoping I can find the right way to keep the focus and motivation to get the job done. I've just got to take it race by race and do the best I can. It's just so frustrating when the results don't come, especially early in the season.''

Coulthard's anger was compounded by seeing Michael Schumacher make the podium in Sepang after his first-corner incident with Juan Pablo Montoya relegated him to last. The reigning world champion would have been fourth had Jenson Button's Renault not suffered suspension failure two laps from the finish.

"The words 'jammy bastard' came to mind,'' reflected Coulthard bitterly. "I was standing in the garage looking at that thinking that whenever I've been involved in a collision like that I've gone off permanently.''

This sort of transparently depressed talk raised eyebrows given that 15 races remain. Coulthard may be 14 points behind championship leader Schumacher, but there are still 150 points on the table.

Usually under such circumstances the standard comments could be expected about staying focused and there being a long way to go. But key to Coulthard's mental woes is his dawning realisation that there is not such a long way to go, one way or another.

The Scot's former team-mate Damon Hill believes it could be pivotal to Coulthard's career.

"David hasn't said he is giving up,'' said the 1996 world champion. "He said he was putting the big prize out of his mind for the moment and taking each race as it comes. And I think he's right. I suspect he's realised that to get anywhere in Formula One, it's vital to deal in realities rather than illusions. Maybe that is a turning point in the way he's approaching the sport now.''

Coulthard is unlikely to take Hill's words kindly, no doubt believing he has always dealt in reality. Certainly now reality is staring him in the face.

F1 2002 - guide

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