David Coulthard is back in pole position to retain his status as Britain's top Formula 1 driver, thanks to the computer whizzkids in his McLaren team.

Coulthard snatched third spot in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona behind race winner Michael Schumacher and second-placed Grove-based BMW Williams team driver Juan Pablo Montoya, to leapfrog Enstone-based Mild Seven Renault F1 team driver Jenson Button into fourth place in the drivers' championship.

But the 31-year-old Scot only earned his second visit to the podium this season, after McLaren decided to keep him on the track, despite seeing team-mate Kimi Raikkonen's rear wing snap off after just four laps. "Within less than a minute we were able to interrogate our database and confirm that the wing assembly on David's car was effectively new, which, supported by our extensive test mileage, convinced us there was no risk to David's car," said team boss Ron Dennis.

Coulthard, who finished over 43 seconds behind race winner Michael Schumacher to slip 35 points behind his Ferrari rival, said: "There was no reason to pull the car out, or for me to have been worried about it, because we haven't had a wing failure this year at all."

The Monaco-based racer claimed third after overtaking Button, who was struggling with a mishandling Renault. "I was big-time disappointed," said Button. "The understeer was so bad, that at times I was coming out of corners with my arms crossed.

"I was running third at one point, but I pretty much knew that David was going to get past me when I started having problems. His car was just too quick."

Button's teammate Jarno Trulli retired a lap later with engine problems.

Although Montoya's second place gained him six more championship points, it was a bad day for his teammate Ralf Schumacher, who didn't finish due to an engine failure.

Both mechanics who were hurt in an incident during Montoya's second pit stop have recovered.

Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa were fourth and fifth respectively for Sauber, while Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen scored the Leafield-based Orange Arrows team' first point of the campaign in sixth