Coulthard to start 200th race from back.

David Coulthard admitted that there was a problem on the rear of his car that caused him to spin off in the opening qualifying knockout session for the Spanish Grand Prix that will see him start his 200th race from the back of the grid.

Having managed the fifth quickest time in morning practice, hopes were high that Coulthard would be able to reach the top ten for the first time this year but instead found himself spinning into the tyre barriers at turn three eight minutes in.

Indeed, Coulthard confirmed that it was a mechanical error that pitched him off the circuit rather than driver error, the Scot very frustrated at not being able to exploit the cars potential on a circuit the team know well from winter testing.

"There was failure on the car," Coulthard confirmed. "Turn three is not a difficult corner, even when you're flat out, and I was on an out lap and not pushing hard at all Something failed at the rear of the car and it just went away from me. I'm really pissed off as I think we were in really good shape this morning, but we just need to take it on the chin and see what we can do in the race."

One place ahead of Coulthard in the morning, Christian Klien was left to carry the baton for Red Bull but he too struggled to make an impression, settling for 14th place after getting baulked by Jacques Villeneuve.

"I got through the first qualifying part okay," Klien said. "The second part looked good at the beginning, but when I went out on new tyres I lost some time in the first sector. The car was understeering quite a lot and Villeneuve held me up on my last flying lap, but with this new qualifying system it's so easy to get held up in traffic."

Nonetheless, the Austrian driver is confident going into the race, insisting that a good strategy could see him challenging for a points' finish come Sunday.

"My qualifying position is not great, but it's a long race tomorrow and we'll play a little bit with our strategy, so hopefully we'll get some points."