Eddie Irvine has refused to support his Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher in the row over Sunday's stormy Belgian Grand Prix and has instead come to the defence of David Coulthard.

Schumacher had stormed angrily into the McLaren pit and accused Coulthard of "trying to kill" him by deliberately slowing down as he attempted to lap him in zero visibility.

But Irvine claimed that former world champion Schumacher was a victim of unfortunate circumstances.

"There is no way DC's (Coulthard) going to do it deliberately," Irvine said. "He is not that kind of person.

"No driver would do that to a colleague. If Michael had lifted off every time he couldn't see where he was going, he would have been last.