Monday March 27th, 2000

Briton Jenson Button made history as Formula One's youngest points scorer while compatriot David Coulthard left Brazil on Monday with little to celebrate on his birthday.

Coulthard, 29 today, had finished runner-up to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher on Sunday at Interlagos but the McLaren driver was disqualified and stripped of his six points after the car failed a post-race inspection.

The stewards ruled that the McLaren's front wing was lower to the ground than regulations permit. McLaren appealed, arguing that the vibration of the bumpy circuit had damaged the body of the car.

The world governing body FIA said a hearing with three judges was expected in Paris at the start of next week, before Imola hosts the San Marino Grand Prix on April 9.

The disqualification provisionally moved 20-year-old Button up to sixth and gave the Williams driver a point in only the second race of an already remarkable career.

At the start of the year, Button was little more than a promising teenager with a test drive secured after attracting attention in British Formula Three.

Having convinced Frank Williams to take the plunge and sign him as Italian Alex Zanardi's replacement, Button then lined up at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 12 as the youngest Briton ever in the sport.

Many of the sport's elder statesmen, former champions Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter included, expressed concern that Button was too inexperienced to be there.

Two weeks later and, after completing a grand prix for the first time in his life with great poise and confidence, the Briton found himself with more points than the entire McLaren team and their world champion Mika Hakkinen.

At 20 years and two months -- Button was born on January 19, 1980 -- he became the youngest points scorer.

The previous record was set by Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez, who was 20 years and four months old when he finished fourth for Ferrari at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix.

Rodriguez died in a crash that year.

Coulthard's points would have been McLaren's first of a season that has so far shown every sign of being as frustrating for the team as last year's when they dominated qualifying but failed to hammer home their advantage on race day.

The Scot was already heading for the airport when news of his disqualification finally emerged six hours after Schumacher had taken the chequered flag.

The Briton and Hakkinen were both forced to retire with engine trouble in Australia and the Finn, to his dismay, was again sidelined in Brazil.

That left Hakkinen, chasing a third successive title, with no points on the board from the opening two races despite having started both on pole position and also led both.

"Nothing can describe how I feel," he said. "We have been quick all weekend, right the way through, so I am not happy to be leaving Brazil without any points. We have some work to do before the start of the European season."

It was the second race in a row that a car had been disqualified after failing the post-race inspection and also the second time in Coulthard's career that he had finished as runner-up in Brazil only to be disqualified.

The Briton and Schumacher were disqualified in Brazil in 1995 while he was at Williams when the team and the German's Benetton were found to have used illegal fuel.

Both drivers had their points reinstated on appeal but the teams had them withheld and were fined.

The Sauber of Finland's Mika Salo was also disqualified in this year's opening Australian Grand Prix for having a front wing that extended 20 mm too far.

The Swiss-based team did not compete in Brazil for safety reasons after rear wing failures in practice.

Last season was overshadowed by a similar measuring controversy involving Ferrari, whose aerodynamic barge boards were found to be illegal, at the penultimate Malaysian Grand Prix. That decision was later reversed.

The new season has seen no let up as a place in Formula One history is still measured in millimetres.