Coulthard: I need a miracle

David Coulthard revealed he will start praying for a miracle in a bid to resurrect his world championship hopes.  

Coulthard will start from fifth place on the grid in the Germany Grand Prix, almost 1.5 seconds adrift of pole position man Juan Pablo Montoya.

Crucially for Coulthard, Michael Schumacher is one place ahead of him after a disappointing qualifying session.

For Coulthard qualifying was just the latest heartache on a day which saw him spin off the track in the final practice session and slightly damage his hand.

Coulthard has also suffered from a balance problem with the car throughout the weekend, ultimately leading to him blistering a tyre in each of his first three qualifying runs and having to abort his fourth as he realised he would not have enough spare sets for the race.

The racing gods certainly do not seem to be smiling on Coulthard, but he said: "I need a miracle, but sometimes they do happen, as Rubens showed last year in winning the race after starting from 18th.

"So as far as I'm concerned it is also still possible to win the championship, but clearly I am not very quick here, which is not exactly the right ingredient when you go looking for a race victory.

"But I am not depressed about my championship chances, although obviously there has been an ever widening gap.

"I'm only part of the team though. I feel my performance is as strong as it was earlier in the season, but I don't think that is the only reason why there is such a big gap.

"We have had our opportunities and missed them. That's it. You pay the price for that. That's why Michael has the lead and the comfort zone he has."