Coulthard alters title equation

Motor racing

Frank Williams articulated what many in the paddock were musing: "It may prove to be our biggest mistake. We'll see."

His team, Williams-Renault, left here with another win, yet mixed emotions. The man who dominated Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix was not Damon Hill, their senior driver and world championship contender, but David Coulthard, the Scot due to be confirmed next Sunday as McLaren-Mercedes' recruit for 1996.

Williams have already signed Jacques Villeneuve to partner Hill next season and the evidence of Coulthard's form for much of the year suggested he would not be a loss to the team. The young Scot looked like a driver who had been pushed too far, too soon.

Over the past three race meetings, however, he has been consistently quicker than Hill and his maiden victory here on Sunday patently had a demoralising effect on the Englishman. Relegated to third place, behind Michael Schumacher, Hill was distanced even further from his title objective. Worse still, you sensed, was the realisation that, at the age of 35, he had been eclipsed by a rising British talent, a 24-year-old British talent.

That realisation must have gnawed at Williams, too. "It was a wonderful drive by a wonderful driver," he said. The team have emphasised "there is no reason why David couldn't even eventually return" and the one comforting factor for them is that Coulthard is joining a team currently in no position to embarrass them. Things can change, though, and, as Williams acknowledges, their driver strategy may one day come back to haunt them.

McLaren will be relishing the irony of events. They lost a tribunal verdict over the services of Coulthard for this season and now welcome him as Formula One's latest winner.

Coulthard, who maintained he was considerably handicapped by tonsillitis in the first half of the season, has cause to feel aggrieved he is to be denied an obvious championship opportunity next year but then he has time on his side.

He said: "I heard people say earlier in the season that I wasn't what they thought, but deep down I knew what I was capable of. I wasn't able to perform at my best and was being made to look artificially poor compared with Damon and Michael. Now I've shown I'm capable of being quick.

"I've accepted a lot of bad luck, so it's only fair fortune should have turned my way. I've proved I deserve a place in a top team. Damon and Michael have been the best drivers this season but I've finally proved I can beat them.

"At the moment Williams look a strong force. When I change teams I'll have to take a different approach but at least I'll start a grand prix winner. I'm genuinely excited about the prospects for next year."

Hill, meanwhile, must lift himself for a final attempt to salvage his hope of denying Schumacher a second title. He concedes he needs "a miracle" but his car is better than the Benetton-Renault and with four races remaining he could still close that 17-point gap.

The problem for Hill is that he needs wins, nothing less, starting with Sunday's Grand Prix of Europe, at the Nurburgring, the second race in Schumacher's country this season, and he now has two formidable opponents to beat. Little wonder he looked resigned to his fate here.

Coulthard's removal from the equation at Ferrari has revived Martin Brundle's bid for the second seat alongside Schumacher next season and the champion is lobbying on his behalf. But the team, anxious to appease supporters dismayed by the departure of Jean Alesi to Benetton and so far reluctant to be seduced by Schumacher, are tomorrow auditioning a batch of Italian drivers for the job.