Coulthard sets pace in France

David Coulthard led today's practice session for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.

And the McLaren driver was cheered by the news that championship leader Michael Schumacher was nearly a second off the pace and could only finish seventh in his Ferrari.

Schumacher leads Coulthard by 24 points in the drivers' standings after nine races.

Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine came a better than expected second, 0.2 of a second behind Coulthard, and BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve was third. McLaren's Mika Hakkinen led in the morning session but fell to fourth place in the afternoon run.

Ralf Schumacher was fifth in the Williams and he was followed by team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya, who was sixth. Qualifying is tomorrow and the race is on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Schumacher today insisted he is not bothered about breaking records - just on maintaining his world domination.

The German needs just two more wins to equal Frenchman Alain Prost's all-time mark of 51 victories.

Schumacher is looking to move a step closer to that in Sunday's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours which would set up the opportunity to equal the record in front of his British fans at Silverstone two weeks later.

But the Ferrari driver said his main goal is wrapping up a fourth drivers' crown this season. He heads into the 10th round of the 17-race season with a 24 point lead over McLaren's Coulthard.

Schumacher said: "Records are something nice to look back on when you are retired. Our only focus is on the fight to win the championship."