David Coulthard yesterday refused to put himself forward as the only real impediment to Michael Schumacher's charge for a second consecutive drivers' championship, despite closing to within six points of the rampant Ferrari driver with a well taken win at the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

The Scot, who leads Ferrari number two Rubens Barrichello by 10 points and his team-mate, Mika Hakkinen, by a massive 19 points, appears to be McLaren's best hope of victory at this early stage of the season as he appears to have come to terms with the quirks of the team's tricksome 2001 challenger, the MP4-16, while Hakkinen has visibly struggled.

Coulthard though baulked at such suggestions, saying that he didn't believe he had any advantage over his team-mate.

"I don't think that's the case," he bristled. "I think that I've had a fortunate start to the season, the car's been reliable and I've made the most of the situation. Some of the incidents on the track have opened up to my benefit and I think it's just as simple as that.

"In this world you all (the press) want, every two weeks, to put someone in a box," he continued tetchily. "You all want to know who's hot and who's not, and I think if you're trying to suggest that Mika's not able or capable of getting round this then I'm not quite sure what you've been smoking."

Smoke there is, however, and most of it coming from the fire that has so far failed to ignite under Hakkinen. The Finn's sole score for the season came in Malaysia, where he couldn't hold off a strong challenge from Heinz Harald Frentzen and lost fourth and then failed to catch fifth-placed Ralf Schumacher in the closing stages of the race.

That single point was sandwiched between two race failures, as the Finn's suspension broke after 25 laps in Australia and a clutch glitch at Interlagos left him stranded on the starting grid.

So far Hakkinen has described designer Adrian Newey's car only as "difficult", and while it's true that Hakkinen has been plagued by technical difficulties, his teammate has prospered in the new machine.

But Coulthard bristled again at suggestions that his positive start to this season is his best and last chance of championship glory.

"I don't know the answer to either of those questions," he said. " I feel I have a good opportunity at McLaren, I don't think I'm here by accident. I think I'm here because I can do the job and who knows what's around the corner? I don't know if it's my last chance, but again, it's an example of people wanting to put your career in a box and close the lid before you're actually at the end of your career."

Coulthard best chance could improved again this weekend at Imola. The Scot remains the only man to win from pole on the revised track, a feat he achieved in 1998.

Imola has been a Schumacher stronghold in the past, however, and for Coulthard the statistics will make unhappy reading. The German has won three times, in 1994, 1999 and 2000, and in all the times he has finished here he has always come home in the top two (he spun out and hit a wall in 1995).