A terse David Coulthard will be relying on his years of race experience after failing to make the most of his Red Bull’s potential in qualifying at Spa.
The Scotsman set the 13th best time in qualification for the Belgian Grand Prix but will start 12th because of Robert Kubica’s engine penalty. Team mate Mark Webber will start seventh.
“I was pushing hard on my last run in Q2 and went a little off line, which lost me some time. We’ll do what we can from twelfth on the grid tomorrow,” he said.
It was left to team boss Christian Horner and Fabrice Lom of the team’s engine supplier, Renault, to elaborate.
Horner was reasonably content with his cars’ performance: “David moved through Q1 with a slight engine scare, which was able to be resolved very quickly before the start of the next session.
“He was pushing hard on his second run in Q2, but dropped a bit of time. However, seventh and twelfth are respectable starting positions for tomorrow.”
And Lom added: “It’s satisfying to see our car performing so well on a track as demanding as Spa. It was very close in Q2, but unfortunately David did not make it into the top ten.
“Although we know it will be tough, David is an experienced driver which counts here more than anywhere else, so he can still make up some positions during the race.”