Coulthard criticised by Renault
David Coulthard has been criticised by Renault after blocking Heikki Kovalainen during qualifying for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The French marque have deliberately made a point as Coulthard is one of Formula One’s fiercest critics in respect of drivers baulking others.
Yet the most-experienced man in F1 did exactly that to Kovalainen during Q2, wrecking the Finn’s flying lap around the Monte Carlo circuit as he looked to push his way into the top-10 showdown.
Red Bull Racing driver Coulthard had initially made it into Q3 but was excluded from taking part following an investigation by stewards, with his final grid position yet to be determined.
Renault’s executive director of engineering Pat Symonds did not mince his words, saying: “My sympathy goes to Heikki after a very frustrating session.
“It is a shame the oldest driver in the field, and the one who is most voluble about problems with traffic, was unable to adhere to his own principles.”
Coulthard and Red Bull claim there was “a communication error,” yet there was no apology.
“I didn’t know Kovalainen was on a timed lap or else, quite clearly, I would have got out of the way,” insisted Coulthard.
“I did communicate with the team to find out what was happening with the traffic around me, but there was a misunderstanding so I didn’t get the correct information.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner added: “It’s frustrating having comfortably got two cars into the top 10 for Q3, one couldn’t participate.
“This was the result of a communication error from the pit wall to the car, and was certainly not done by David deliberately.”
That was of little comfort to Kovalainen who was far from happy as he will now start from 14th, with little chance of a points finish from such a position.
“It was a very frustrating qualifying session for me,” explained the 25-year-old rookie.
“My laps in the first part were not great, but I was getting more and more confident with the car, and on my final run I thought I could have made it into the top 10.
“I came round the first turn on my flying lap, saw Coulthard’s Red Bull coming out of the pits, and thought he would move over after Casino, or into the Tunnel at the latest.
“But he just stayed there all the way round, and ruined the lap.
“To say the least, I was very surprised to see that from the most experienced driver in the field. So it was a session to forget.”
