| | Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- David Coulthard was too quick on the
throttle and paid the price.
Positioned in the second spot on the starting grid, just to the
right and behind Michael Schumacher, Coulthard rocketed to the lead
of the United States Grand Prix on Sunday. The only problem was the
green light had not yet been displayed to start the race.
"I knew I jumped the start. It's unfortunate," said Coulthard,
who led the first six laps before officials brought him in for a
10-second stop-and-go penalty.
"I was ready to go and they weren't, and you have to pay the
penalty," he said. "You set a rhythm of when you expect (the
light) to change. Obviously, you're trying to anticipate. It seemed
to me that they were a bit longer than normal, but rules are rules
and I have to accept the punishment."
Schumacher passed Coulthard on the seventh lap -- the two cars
lightly touched tires in the first of the 2.6-mile course's 13
turns -- and Coulthard came into the pit for the penalty a lap
later. By the time he returned, he was 16th.
Coulthard lost a couple more places before he started making his
comeback, and by the 40th lap he was up to fifth, where he finished
28.8 seconds behind Schumacher.
"I'm disappointed in myself," said Coulthard, who was
eliminated from the Formula One series championship and, with two
races to go, can finish no better than second even if leader
Schumacher and second-place Mika Hakkinen do not score another
point.
"You have to take risks. You have to anticipate, and I just
overdid it," he said. "I moved, then tried to stop, but then the
lights changed so I went. If you start and then stop, and they can
see that you're actually at a standstill before you go, then they
tend to let you off, but because I didn't come to a complete
standstill, you get a penalty."
Schumacher said he wasn't concerned when Coulthard took the lead
at the beginning.
"We were aware he might get one (penalty)," Schumacher said.
"But still, he was slowing it down enough to make Hakkinen give a
go at me. Obviously, the two are teammates and that's perfectly
legal to do this.
"On the overtaking, I think although he is not really in the
championship, he tried a little bit too much, in my view,"
Schumacher said. "He just pushed me wide and touched me."
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