Every cloud has a silver lining

David Coulthard’s engine suffered a problem after it took the chequered flag at the end of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix and the team was not exactly delighted, as this means DC knows that wherever he qualifies on Saturday afternoon here in Sepang, he starts ten places further down the grid. The irritation stems from the fact that if he had pulled out of the race with a couple of laps to go, he could have changed the engine without any penalty.

“But in these extremely hot conditions, a new engine might be a blessing in disguise,” said Red Bull Racing Sporting Director, Christian Horner. “Exchanging ten places on the grid for a new engine may be no bad thing.”

Exchanging his cockpit for a piece of rope and a plank of wood on Tuesday was Robert Doornbos. He and sister team’s Tonio Liuzzi were in Singapore, where they tried their hand at wakeboarding. For those of you who don’t read “Pointless Sports Monthly,” wakeboarding is similar to water skiing, except that you end up with something the size of a snowboard (qv “Pointless Sports Monthly”) attached to your feet. And yes, both drivers were very good at it.

On the subject of Doornbos, one member of his family caused quite a stir in Bahrain and no it was not his sister. Apparently, Robert has what is known as a “Yummy Mummy” and she set a few hearts aflutter in the paddock, amongst an age group whose hearts should not be fluttering too much.