Formula 1: Coulthard in defiant mood

David Coulthard takes his championship challenge into rival Michael Schumacher’s own back-yard this weekend insisting it is not now or never for his title hopes.

The 30-year-old Scot believes Sunday’s European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany will not decide the outcome of the drivers’ crown.

But Coulthard admits he is keen to get his drive for glory back on track having fallen 18 points adrift of his Ferrari foe after being hit by problems not of his own making in recent races.

‘‘It’s not a case of this weekend or never,’’ said Coulthard, whose challenge has been hit by mechanical and computer software glitches.

‘‘A lot can happen yet. I’ve just got to finish in front of Michael to close the gap and there’s a long way to go.

‘‘It would take a couple of wins, with Michael not finishing, to turn it around quickly but we know we’ve given away points by technical errors rather than not being quick enough.

‘‘So either we’ll overcome that or it will still be a talking point at the end of the season. There have been bigger points gaps in other championship years which drivers have closed.’’

Coulthard is undaunted by the prospect of facing the German hero on a track which is just a short drive from where Schumacher first honed his skills by racing karts.

Instead, the Monaco-based driver said the weight of history would be just as much with his McLaren-Mercedes outfit at the circuit which is close to its feared predecessor.

‘‘The history here is Mercedes-Benz, which goes back much further than the Schumachers,’’ added Coulthard.

‘‘The Silver Arrows claimed this land long before they came along.

‘‘I believe we get that extra bit of ‘horsepower’ knowing about Mercedes-Benz’s history here at the ring.’’

Coulthard’s deficit is the biggest he has faced in the campaign so far but he knows that he cannot count on the support of team-mate Mika Hakkinen until the Finn is mathematically out of title contention.

Hakkinen is a massive 50 points adrift of Schumacher but insists he will not abide by team orders until he knows there is no hope of a third drivers’ championship and that could be for a few races yet.

‘‘It would be unreasonable to expect Mika to do something to disadvantage himself just out of the kindness of his heart,’’ said Coulthard, who knows the decision will be taken by McLaren boss Ron Dennis and his Mercedes counterpart Norbert Haug.

‘‘He’s a long way behind but there’s a lot of points to be won and if something unusual happened he could still challenge. It’s a team decision and not something I’m really considering.

‘‘Ron and Norbert will do what they think is right based on it being their train set and they can play with it how they wish. There’s no need for me to get involved. They know the maths and when the time is right it naturally happens.’’