Tuesday November 2nd, 1999

Formula One Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, took a side in the feud between Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, clearly backing Schumacher's claims against the Scot. Schumacher accused Coulthard of blocking him deliberately when he was about to overlap the McLaren driver in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix race.

"Michael quite rightly had a go," Ecclestone told the Daily Mail newspaper. "In my opinion what Coulthard did was quite wrong, completely out of order. He should have been black-flagged for it. Of course, it is up to David whether he wants to take any legal action against Schumacher, but I imagine he would have to prove what Michael said about him was incorrect. Although I'm not a lawyer, I think he would find that difficult."

Coulthard, on the other hand, said today he will not take legal actions against Schumacher, albeit threatening to sue the German if he does not apologise for his remarks. "There's no question of any legal action," Coulthard said. "This is just another blip in our relationship. We have spoken about it and agreed to have different views, but we have to work together as part of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. I can only believe Michael was deflecting attention from the fact that Mika tried to beat him fair and square. It just shows Michael holds grudges and just has a real problem at admitting his mistake. I am not denying that I held him up but it was not a deliberate attempt to ruin his race."