Coulthard fifth quickest in first Spanish practice seassion

Seventy-two hours after he nearly died in a jet crash, David Coulthard was back in the cockpit of his McLaren Mercedes tearing down Formula One's longest straightaway at 200 mph.

He posted the fifth quickest time in the practice, but that mattered little. The Catalunya circuit is probably the most practiced on in F1 and Friday's sessions are notoriously unrelated to Sunday's outcome.

What counted was Coulthard was back in his car.

On Thursday, the 29-year-old Scot read a brief, hand-written statement about Tuesday's Learjet crash in Lyon, France, that killed the two pilots but left him, his girlfriend and trainer unscathed. One of F1's most thoughtful and best-liked drivers, Coulthard then asked for privacy.

His only injury in the jet crash was badly bruised ribs, which could have been painful as he strapped into F1's straightjacket-like seatbelt harness. But that was no problem Coulthard said in a brief statement, then fled to the solace of McLaren's motorhome.

"The residual bruising from the aircraft incident is not causing me any discomfort in the car and I feel fine," he said. "I very much appreciate the media giving me the opportunity to concentrate on this race."

Coulthard raised some concerns when he took only one warmup lap but didn't record a time in Friday's first free practice session. But he went out early in the second hour-long session and hit 200 mph on the one-kilometer long straightaway.

"A normal Friday in Barcelona," said McLaren team director Ron Dennis.

Season points leader Michael Schumacher of Ferrari, who has 34 points to 14 for Coulthard and 12 for teammate Mika Hakkinen.

Ralf Schumacher of Williams (1:22.509) was second fatest followed by Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello (1:22.549), Jordan's Jarno Trulli (1:22.582), Coulthard (1:22.651), Williams' Jenson Button (1:23.19) and Hakkinen (1:23.266).

Schumacher called Friday's practice "working on the question marks."

"This session is not as exciting as when you come to a track where you have not tested," he added. "It is more relaxed."

Hakkinen has won the last two Spanish GPs with Coulthard second each time. Schumacher has also won it twice and, like Hakkinen, will be trying to equal Jackie Stewart's record of three victories here.

The defending two-time champion complained about the slick track conditions, which was a common complaint on a warm, 25-degree day in northeastern Spain.

"There was a lack of grip and as a result it was difficult to find the optimum balance of the car," Hakkinen said. "I don't know exactly what caused the slippery track surface. It might be the temperature."

On Thursday Coulthard spoke publicly for the first time about the Learjet crash and described how he and his physical trainer Andy Matthews and American fiancee Heidi Wichlinski climbed out of the fuselage, which had broken away from the cockpit after the jet tried an emergency landing.

Coulthard expressed his sympathy to the families of the dead pilots - David Saunders and Dan Worley - and said he tried to rescue the two.

"Once we were all out I immediately returned to the aircraft to see if there was anything I could do for the pilots. But there was nothing I could do."

FRIDAY PRACTICE TIMES

1, Michael Schumacher Germany, Ferrari, 1 minute 21.982 seconds 2, Ralf Schumacher, Germany Williams, 1:22.509 3, Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:22.549 4, Jarno Trulli, Italy, Jordan, 1:22.582 5, David Coulthard, Scotland, McLaren Mercedes, 1:22.651 6, Jenson Button, England, Williams, 1:23.119 7, Mika Hakkinen, Finland, McLaren Mercedes, 1:23.266 8, Pedro Diniz, Brazil, Sauber, 1:23.394 9, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Germany, Jordan, 1:23.495 10, Jean Alesi, France, Prost, 1:23.582 11, Marc Gene, Spain, Minardi, 1:23.868 12, Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Benetton, 1:24.026 13, Johnny Herbert, England, Jaguar, 1:24.114 14, Alexander Wurz, Austria, Benetton, 1:24.161 15, Eddie Irvine, Northern Ireland, Jaguar, 1:24.346 16, Jos Verstappen, Netherlands, Arrows, 1:24.451 17, Ricardo Zonta, Brazil, BAR, 1:24.461 18, Nick Heidfeld, Germany, Prost, 1:24.582 19, Gaston Mazzacane, Argentina, Minardi, 1:24.767 20, Mika Salo, Finland, Sauber, 1:24.948 21, Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, BAR, 1:25.166 22, Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, Arrows, 1:25.189