Coulthard refuses to let Schumacher past with inspired display

A few scores were settled out on the fabled streets of the principality yesterday and, although the championship is scarcely effected, David Coulthard and most of the watching world feel better about it.

After Michael Schumacher's contrived win in Austria and the subsequent condemnation of Ferrari's strategy, the champion driver and team met their match in a Monaco Grand Prix that sured up Formula One's credibility.

Coulthard, left stranded and tormented in pole position in his McLaren Mercedes here last year, launched clear of Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams BMW at the start this time and then resisted the pressure from Schumacher to complete, perhaps, the outstanding victory of his career.

The software worked perfectly and when puffs of smoke suggested his race might again be sabotaged, McLaren's technicians performed their black art with the telemetry, rectified the problem of a transfer valve, and placed the rest in Coulthard's capable hands.

This track is the ultimate test of a driver's judgement and concentration, and the Scotsman passed with distinction. Schumacher, in a quicker car, caught the McLaren but never mustered a challenge, such was Coulthard's consistency on this tight, ever twisting circuit.

It was, as Coulthard said, a timely result, coming more than a year since his previous success and seven races into a season already written off as a lost cause as far as championship honours are concerned.

For the sport, however, it was an equally significant occasion. It was the first race not won by Michael or Ralf Schumacher – the younger of the brothers was third here – since Indianapolis, last autumn, a sequence of eight Grands Prix. And it came like the sweep of a new broom, cleaning away the fall-out from Ferrari's team orders in Austria, where Rubens Barrichello allowed Schumacher to pass him on the line.

Coulthard acknowledged: "This was an important win for all those reasons. On a personal level it is pay-back time for last year. I was aware of the smoke but the team told me there was no problem and it cleared up. For the team it is fantastic because our reputation has taken a knock. It's also another twist in the show. That's got to be good for Formula One. In World Cup year you have to do something to keep the viewers."

Schumacher and Ferrari received a mixed reception here, but he was as gracious in defeat as he had been uncomfortable in victory a fortnight ago. The German, starting from third on the grid was crucially held up by Montoya before the Colombian's car expired with a blown engine. Schumacher had to make up too much time after his pit stop and failed to hustle Coulthard into an error.

"We were fast enough to have stayed in front if we had got there, but David drove well and never gave me a chance," Schumacher said. "They really deserved this win."

Schumacher crossed the line a second from equalling Ayrton Senna's record of six wins in this, the most prestigious of all Grands Prix but six points were a consolation.

Jarno Trulli won his first points of the season, finishing fourth in his Renault. Another Italian, Jiancarlo Fisichella, was fifth for Jordan Honda and Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen took the final point with another excellent drive in the Arrows. Barrichello, who ran into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren had two penalties and finished seventh.

Montoya and the Schumachers avoided any coming together, despite having to tag onto the back of Coulthard like railway carriages in the race's early phase. Gradually Montoya lost contact with the leader and the elder Schumacher was kept occupied by the dancing rear wing of the Williams.

Schumacher said: "It was entertaining to watch Juan. He was clipping a few barriers, going sideways. He was overdriving. I thought he was going to hit something. But he didn't and kept his concentration." Montoya could not, however, keep his car going. He allowed his team-mate through, slowed to a crawl and eventually stopped, 46 laps in. "It's a shame," Montoya said. "I was ahead of Michael and we could have taken some points away from him."

The unforgiving barriers claimed their inevitable victims, although 12 finishers is a healthy return here. Scotland's Allan McNish, who had done well on his first weekend here, spoiled it when he hit a curb and crashed after 15 laps.

Japan's Takuma Sato hit the wall at the end of the tunnel and his Jordan team-mate, Fisichella had to take avoiding action. Jenson Button, Renault's English driver, attempted an ambitious drive inside Olivier Panis' BAR Honda and the two cars joined the scrap heap. And the Brazilian, Felipe Massa, who tangled earlier with his countryman, Enrique Bernoldi's Arrows, was fortunate to walk away when his Sauber crashed head on.

Coulthard, however, retained his cool throughout and was rewarded with his 12th Grand Prix win. His team leader, Ron Dennis, enthused: "It was a fantastic drive – disciplined, controlled and thoroughly deserved."

RACE DETAILS

1 D Coulthard (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1hr 45min 39.055sec (average speed 149.280 kph)

2 M Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari +1.050sec

3 R Schumacher (Ger) Williams-BMW +1:17.450sec

4 J Trulli (It) Renault +1 lap

5 G Fisichella (It) Jordan-Honda +1 lap

6 H Frentzen (Ger) Arrows-Cosworth +1 lap

7 R Barrichello (Br) Ferrari +1 lap

8 N Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber-Petronas +2 laps

9 E Irvine (GB) Jaguar +2 laps

10 P de la Rosa (Sp) Jaguar +2 laps

11 M Webber (Aus) Minardi-Asiatech +2 laps

12 E Bernoldi (Br) Arrows-Cosworth +2 laps

Not classified (did not finish): M Salo (Fin) Toyota 69 laps completed; F Massa (Br) Sauber-Petronas 63; O Panis (Fr) BAR-Honda 51; J Button (GB) Renault 51; J P Montoya (Col) Williams-BMW 46; J Villeneuve (Can) BAR-Honda 44; K Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 41; A Yoong (Malay) Minardi-Asiatech 29; T Sato (Japan) Jordan-Honda 22; A McNish (GB) Toyota 15.

Fastest lap: Barrichello, lap 68, 1:18.023 (155.492 kph).

Constructors' championship: 1 Ferrari 72pts; 2 Williams-BMW 54; 3 McLaren-Mercedes, 24; 4 Renault 11; 5 Sauber-Petronas 8; 6 Jordan-Honda 4; 7 Jaguar 3; 8= Minardi-Asiatech 2; Toyota 2; Arrows-Cosworth 2.

(Results provisional, subject to further technical inspection of Trulli's car)