David Coulthard yesterday spoke at length for the first time about his miraculous escape from the burning wreckage of the private jet which crashed at Lyon airport on Tuesday.

The McLaren driver, arriving at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya to prepare for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix read from a prepared statement in which he described the crash which killed both the chartered Lear jet's pilots.

"I have written down some thoughts of the crash in which my fiancee Heidi Wichlinski and my fitness trainer Andy Matthews were involved," said the Scot who has vowed to race this weekend.

"First of all, I would like to express my sympathy for the families of the two pilots who behaved in a thoroughly professional manner throughout the incident.

"We left Farnborough at lunchtime en route for Nice, the co-pilot informed us that we had an engine problem and would be making an emergency landing at Lyon. We had time to prepare for the emergency landing in the brace position. On landing one of the wing fuel tanks ruptured and there was a fire on the right of the plane.

"When the plane came to rest it was clear that the only way out was through the front of the plane which was now several feet from the ground. Andy led the way through the debris, I followed, so that we could help Heidi to climb out. Once we were all clear I returned to the plane to see what I could do for the pilots but there was nothing I could do.

"The rescue services were there within a minute and I have the highest regard for their actions. Heidi, Andy and myself recognise that this accident, like all accidents, is of interest to the media but I hope you will respect our feelings and allow us to get on with the job this weekend. We are helping and will continue to help the French authorities with their inquiries into the incident so it would not be appropriate to say any more at this point."

The use of private jets is part of everyday life for Formula One drivers who have exacting and tight promotional and testing schedules to meet and scares have occurred in the past, most notably to Jaguar's Eddie Irvine who last year had to make an emergency landing after his personal jet suffered a cracked windscreen. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher also had a scare last year in his own jet when part of the fuselage caught fire forcing an emergency landing. Yesterday the world championship leader said he had been horrified by Coulthard's crash.

"I am shocked by the terrible air crash involving David and I would like to send my sincerest wishes to him," said the German.

Coulthard, despite Tuesday's accident, has never been in any doubt about his participation in this weekend's race and goes into the grand prix looking to extend his claim to second place in the drivers' championship. After a miserable start to the season the Scot's victory at Silverstone a fortnight ago catapulted him into contention for the championship. With 14 points he is currently lying second to Schumacher, though 20 points down and is two points clear of McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen.

Hakkinen, though, has an outstanding record here and has won on his last two outings at the demanding circuit and earlier this week admitted that he would love to make it a hat-trick.

"It's a technical track with a good mixture of both high and low speed corners and a very long straight," he said before Coulthard's accident. "I was testing at the track last Friday and I'm confident we have found a good set-up. Having won in Barcelona for the past two years I'm aiming to make it three in a row."