11th Career Win For Coulthard
13th May, 2001

David Coulthard's title chances are improving with each race, and he is the only driver to score points in each Grand Prix so far. Starting from 7th place in Austria, he drove an impressive race, leading it from lap 47 onwards. With his 2nd win this year, and the 11th in his career, the Scotsman is now trailing Michael Schumacher by only 4 points.
"This must have been a great race to watch and it was definitely fun to drive," he said. "Lots of close battles and overtaking and I'm really pleased to win. We started the race on quite a heavy fuel load to allow ourselves some flexibility in the strategy. It meant that I could stay out four laps more than Michael Schumacher, and three more than Rubens before my pit stop. I did have one or two problems with backmarkers during the race but fortunately it didn't cost me my position. There were no quiet periods but despite the pressure from Barrichello I felt that I had the race under control."

In a reversal of fortune, his team mate, Mika Hakkinen, is experiencing a difficult start to his season, and it did not abate in Austria when he stalled on the grid for the second time this year. "I must admit that I'm extremely disappointed. We are still not sure exactly what the problem was - it could be technical or it could be me. We will have to look at all the data but no matter what it means that my chances of winning the Championship are now somewhat reduced.'"

Team principal Ron Dennis, although very close to Mika Häkkinen, said he was very happy today for the whole team over David Coulthard's win. "The enjoyment of David's win is certainly matched by the pleasure of our strategy in achieving its objective," he commented. "A sensational, disciplined and aggressive drive from David was a vital ingredient in the outcome. We will not have a clear understanding regarding Mika's problem until the data is inspected tomorrow and we will share that information once it's available. Well done to the whole team."