David Coulthard in the McLaren ended Ferrari's domination of this year's Formula 1 campaign with victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix today. This marked the Scot's 10th Grand Prix victory of his career and he deserved it as he coped better than most with the wet conditions at Interlagos to finish in a time of 01:39.834. Championship leader Michael Schumacher, who was hoping to extend his six-race winning streak, was second in the Ferrari, over 16 seconds behind, with Sauber's Nick Heidfeld a full lap behind in third.
Coulthard is now just six points behind Schumacher after three rounds of the Formula 1 campaign. However, he admitted that he was somwhat fortunate to win as Colombia's Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams had led for a long stretch in what is just his third F1 race, before he was sent spinning off the track after a collision with Jos Verstappen's Arrows car. "It was important that we stopped Ferrari and Michael's winning run. We have caught up after being on the back-foot this season, but the win owed a lot to Juan Pablo's misfortune. He was looking good and Williams obviously have a strong package. They will be serious contenders for the championship and we will have a real fight with them," said Coulthard.
It was a day to forget for Coulthard's team-mate Mika Hakkinen as he failed to get away from the grid when his engine stalled at the start. Jordan's Jarno Trulli finished in fifth spot, just behind Oliver Panis but he and team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen may be disappointed with this outcome as they both featured in the top four for much of the race before Frentzen was forced out while in third spot, after his car slid off the track in the wet conditions.
The result of this race leaves Schumacher top of the Drivers' Championship standings on 26 points, with Coulthard on 20 points and Rubens Barichello on 10. Frentzen is in fifth position with 5 points while Trulli is tied in seventh spot on 2 points. Jordan-Honda are currently in fourth position in the Constructors' Championship standings, on 7 points, 29 points behind leaders Ferrari. (PA)
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
