Motor racing: Coulthard called to testify

The lawyer defending Frank Williams against charges of manslaughter over the death of Ayrton Senna has called for David Coulthard to give his testimony when the trial resumed in Italy yesterday.

Oreste Dominioni called for Coulthard, a former Williams driver now with McLaren, because he believes that a statement given by the Scot contradicts one made by Italy's former Formula One driver Michele Alboreto yesterday over the amount of flexing of the steering wheel.

Alboreto told the court that he believed mechanical failure caused the crash.

"On that bend, you don't go off unless there's a mechanical failure," Alboreto said. "Having seen the pictures from Senna's car, I'm even more convinced it was a technical problem which caused the crash."