McLaren's Coulthard wins at last in Austria

McLaren's David Coulthard won the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday to lift McLaren's sagging spirits and pile the pressure on Ferrari's championship leader Michael Schumacher.

The Scot's win had seemed unlikely after his team suffered a nightmare in qualifying and it narrowed the gap between him and Schumacher to four points after six races.

Schumacher was second in a race that could have been far worse for the champion after he tangled with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya. His Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello was third after allowing Schumacher to pass him on the final lap.

Finland's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in a Sauber ahead of Frenchman Olivier Panis in a BAR, with Dutchman Jos Verstappen sixth in an Arrows.

Coulthard had Montoya to thank for the victory, his 11th grand prix win after finishing second for the past four years in Austria, as the Williams driver clashed with Schumacher on the 16th lap while leading.

Schumacher tried to go past on the outside but Montoya blocked the manouvre, in the process locking his brakes and bringing both cars to a halt as the others seized their chance and sped past.

SCHUMACHER FURIOUS
The German, who has never won at the A1 Ring, gesticulated furiously at Montoya before concentrating on salvaging the situation and climbing back from sixth place.

The two had lined up on the front row but the expected fireworks between them into the first corner failed to materialise as Montoya and his team mate Ralf Schumacher roared past the slow-starting Ferrari.

Instead there were blanks further back as four cars, including the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen, were left stranded.

Both the Jordans of German Heinz Harald Frentzen and Italian Jarno Trulli and the Sauber of German Nick Heidfeld failed to get away with the rest.

Marshals struggled to clear the McLaren as the safety car was deployed.

"It doesn't look too promising, does it?" said Hakkinen of his fast evaporating title chances.

"I really can't understand it and at the moment I'm feeling very uncomfortable because I'm not sure whether it was my fault or down to a technical fault."

Eddie Jordan was dismayed by the worst day for his team for some time.

"I've had a few bad seasons in my time, but we normally get to the first corner," he said, blaming the new electronic launch control systems. "It was clearly our fault and we just didn't get things right at the end."