Formula One: Schu unfazed by practice problems

David Coulthard has been warned by title rival Michael Schumacher not to expect an easy ride in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this afternoon.

Championship pacesetter Schumacher is confident he can challenge for pole despite finishing in 11th spot in first practice yesterday - as Coulthard took second place behind McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen.

Schumacher dismissed his deficit of almost one-and-a-half seconds to Hakkinen as he revealed he lost time on the track when mechanical work on his Ferrari took longer than expected to complete.

‘‘It took an abnormally long time and I didn’t do so many laps in the second session,’’ said the 32-year-old.

He leads Coulthard by 12 points going into the eighth round of the 17-race season.

‘‘But I am not worried about qualifying as the difference in lap times between mine and those of my main rivals does not reflect the true situation.

‘‘I am quite calm about everything and I am convinced that we will be one of the teams up at the front in qualifying.’’

Coulthard is looking to claim a second successive pole and is adamant he will use the launch control system after practicing starts yesterday, even though he has stalled twice in the last three races when the computer software failed.

‘‘I was near the top of the time-sheets throughout the day, which is where you want to be,’’ said Coulthard. ‘‘I’ll be using the system because it makes you quicker.

‘‘There is still a long way to go in the championship as we have not reached the half-way point yet, but I want to get in front of Michael sooner rather than later.’’

Eddie Irvine is refusing to predict that he can hang onto third spot from practice after following-up scoring Jaguar Racing’s maiden podium when he finished third in Monaco a fortnight ago.

‘‘We are in good shape, but it was only the first day and it’s qualifying that always counts,’’ he said.

Jenson Button faces another difficult afternoon after finishing way back in 21st spot yesterday, though he was hampered by an electronic problem in his Benetton which restricted his track time.

The 21-year-old - who ended a run of three successive starting places of 21st by qualifying 17th in Monte Carlo - was again well off the pace set by team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished 15th.

Benetton concentrated their efforts on Button at last week’s test in France in an attempt to find out why he has been constantly slower than the Italian.

‘‘Jenson is in his first year with the team while Giancarlo has been here since 1997,’’ said team chief Flavio Briatore.

‘‘Jenson is finding it difficult driving the car with Giancarlo’s set-up, but he is now trying to find his own. They have different driving styles and we need to figure that out.

‘‘Giancarlo has done a very good job and, at this moment, Jenson is doing a less good job, but we need to figure out this one second gap between them