Coulthard comes through to top time-sheets

David Coulthard powered to the top of the time-sheets in practice for the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours today.

The 31-year-old Scot spearheaded a McLaren-Mercedes one-two in the second session as he finished just 0.072 seconds ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

World champion Michael Schumacher had to settle for the third-best time - just over 0.2 secs adrift of Coulthard - but comfortably ahead of fellow Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello in fourth.

Schumacher will score a record-equalling fifth drivers’ crown if he wins Sunday’s race and neither Barrichello nor Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya finish second.

The 33-year-old German did have one spin late in the session on a blisteringly hot track in central France but will start favourite to notch another win this weekend.

Schumacher’s younger brother, Ralf, finished fifth while Williams-BMW team-mate Montoya was back in 10th spot after skidding across the gravel earlier in the second session.

Eddie Irvine was a promising sixth-quickest in the heavily-revised Jaguar R3 which made a disappointing debut in the British Grand Prix last time out.

Renault’s Jenson Button was ninth with Allan McNish in 11th spot Toyota Racing.

Button’s future should be known in the next few days with a move to either Sauber or Toyota the likely options but either is casting a shadow over McNish’s hopes of staying in F1 for a second year.

The Arrows cars of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi failed to take part in the opening day of practice for the second race in a row.

The Oxfordshire-based team have paid for the Cosworth engines for this weekend having been forced to sit out the first day at the British Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

But owner Tom Walkinshaw, who paid £3.2million from his own fortune to ensure Arrows could race at Silverstone, is still battling to rescue the team and is in talks with a potential investor.

Arrows do not have to take part in practice but they must compete in qualifying tomorrow if they want to line-up in Sunday’s race. if not, they risk missing the rest of the championship.