David Coulthard

David Coulthard

Date of birth	27 March 1971 (1971-03-27) (age 39)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1994–2008
Teams	Williams, McLaren, Red Bull
Races	247 (246 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	13
Podiums	62
Career points	535
Pole positions	12
Fastest laps	18
First race	1994 Spanish Grand Prix
First win	1995 Portuguese Grand Prix
Last win	2003 Australian Grand Prix
Last race	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, ( /ˈdeɪvɪd ˈkoʊlθɑːrt/) (born 27 March 1971 in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm^[1]), sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.^[2]

Coulthard made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons. Twice a winner in Monaco, Coulthard was team-mate to Mika Häkkinen in the Finn's two Drivers' Championship winning seasons for McLaren Mercedes before helping establish the Red Bull team.

Coulthard amassed a notable points haul placing him seventh on the all-time scorers list, being the top British scorer. His best Drivers' Championship finish was second in 2001.

Coulthard is now a BBC F1 TV pundit while also being a team consultant for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Coulthard returned to racing sports as an active driver in the DTM series for 2010, piloting a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class for Mücke Motorsport. He finished his first DTM race at the Hockenheimring in 12th place.

Pre-Formula One

Coulthard's Formula 3000 car which he drove for Pacific Racing in the 1993 season

Coulthard began karting at an early age. Allan McNish credited the start given to him, David Coulthard, and Dario Franchitti largely to David Leslie, senior and junior.^[1]

Coulthard graduated to Formula Ford in 1989. He won the first ever McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award. In 1990, he suffered a broken leg at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, but came back the following year to win Formula Three races at Zandvoort, Netherlands and Macau, China. In 1992, he raced in the Formula 3000 series, finishing ninth, and in 1993 he improved to third overall.

Formula One

1994-1995: Williams

Coulthard driving for the Williams team at the 1994 British Grand Prix.

Coulthard driving for Williams at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

In 1993, Coulthard became test driver for the world champion Formula One team Williams-Renault and played an important role in advancing the car's technology. For 1994 he stayed with Williams as tester, but following Ayrton Senna's death at Imola, he was promoted to the race team alongside Damon Hill for the Spanish Grand Prix. He spent much of the season driving the second car, but had to step aside for ex-champion Nigel Mansell on four occasions. Renault were keen to have a big name in the second Williams, and Mansell, at that time reigning Indycar champion, fitted the bill. Coulthard showed flashes of speed, but errors and bad luck saw him take just one podium, a second-place finish at Estoril. For the last three races he had to sit back and watch Mansell take his place, but it was he, and not Mansell, who would race for Williams full-time in 1995.

Entering the 1995 season, Coulthard was forced by the FOCA Contract Recognition Board to fulfill his contract with Williams despite having an option to race for McLaren that season.^[3]

The 1995 season saw Coulthard win the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix. There were other races where he could have won, but poor luck and mistakes once more cost him. He did score five pole positions, four of them consecutively. However, some unforced errors tarnished his season.

When Williams was firming up their driver lineup for 1996 in July 1995, Coulthard had already signed for McLaren.

1996-2004: McLaren

Coulthard driving for the McLaren team at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1996, Coulthard contracted with McLaren to drive alongside future champion Mika Häkkinen. His first season with McLaren was unremarkable, as the Mercedes-powered team struggled to find speed. He led at Imola and lost out to an inspired Olivier Panis at Monaco.

In 1997, in his second year with McLaren, he finished the drivers championship tied with Jean Alesi for third place (after the disqualification of Michael Schumacher). He had taken two wins and could have added more, but for problems. At Montreal he was leading, but was brought into the pits for a precautionary stop. Coulthard stalled his engine twice whilst trying to exit the pits, losing his lead in the process. What made this even more frustrating for Coulthard was that the race was stopped just a few minutes later due to Olivier Panis' crash. If Coulthard had not pitted, he would have won the race. At Jerez, Coulthard was running in 2nd place towards the end of the race and was catching race leader Jacques Villeneuve after his earlier collision with Michael Schumacher. Due to team orders, Coulthard was forced by McLaren to allow his teammate, who was running close behind him, into 2nd place. On the final lap of the race, Villeneuve let both McLarens by and Coulthard thus felt he maybe should have won the race.

In 1998, the McLaren was consistently the fastest car on track, but it was Häkkinen who made the most of it, winning the title. Coulthard took just one win and spent most of the year in a supporting role.

Coulthard driving for McLaren at the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1999, a combination of under-performance and bad luck saw him finish the season in fourth place, and McLaren lost the constructors' title to Ferrari. Häkkinen became champion, whilst Coulthard won twice. In 2000, he was involved in a tight battle for the drivers championship with Schumacher and Häkkinen, but eventually fell out of contention into a disappointing third place finish. In 2001 he finished the year in second place, but with barely half the points (65) tallied by runaway winner Schumacher (123).

Coulthard's subsequent years at McLaren, from 2002 through 2004, were disappointing as well, as he was regularly out-paced by younger teammate Kimi Räikkönen. Many of Coulthard's critics argue that his decline began in 2003, when the FIA introduced the single-lap qualifying format. Since his Formula Three days, Coulthard had the reputation of being a poor qualifier. He openly admitted that he did not like the format and was a vocal opponent of it. With the announcement that Juan Pablo Montoya was to join McLaren in 2005 alongside Räikkönen, 2004 was to be Coulthard's last year with the team. A poor tenth place finish in the final 2004 standings (24 points, equal with the injured Ralf Schumacher) had not helped Coulthard's cause for 2005 either.

2005-2008: Red Bull

Red Bull Racing were attracted by Coulthard's experience and signed him for the 2005 Formula One season. He was teamed with the inexperienced Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Coulthard's contract at Red Bull Racing was also extended prior to the 2005 British Grand Prix, prolonging his Formula One career to at least the end of 2006. Coulthard's stint at Red Bull was a renewal for the Scottish driver, who scored points in many races and became one of the more outspoken and media savvy drivers.

Coulthard at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix.

For 2006, Coulthard continued at Red Bull, partnered again with Christian Klien. The team were powered by Ferrari engines, with a contract for Renault engines agreed for 2007 during the 2006 season. Technical director Adrian Newey joined the team from McLaren to design the 2007 car. These positive developments led Coulthard to state that he wished to remain with the team after the 2006 season, and to add to his victory tally with them. On 7 August 2006, the day after the Hungarian Grand Prix where Coulthard finished 5th, it was announced the he had extended his contract with Red Bull Racing for 2007 and would be teamed up with Mark Webber.

Coulthard is the highest-scoring British driver ever with 535 points, beating Nigel Mansell's previous record of 482 points. At the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix he also became the 8th member of Formula One's "200 Club", joining Riccardo Patrese, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Gerhard Berger, Andrea de Cesaris, Nelson Piquet and Jean Alesi in the list of drivers to have competed in 200 Grands Prix. In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, Coulthard scored his first podium finish with Red Bull Racing, his best result with the team and also the team's first podium finish. During the trophy presentation, Coulthard wore a red cape as the team was promoting the film "Superman Returns".

After a slow start to the 2007 season, Coulthard delivered two strong drives at the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix where he picked up the team's first points of the season. On 6 July 2007, Red Bull Racing announced that Coulthard's contract had been extended to the end of 2008.^[4]

Coulthard driving for RBR at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, where he scored his second podium finish for the team

Coulthard had a bad start to his 2008 campaign after a racing incident with Massa. The Sun newspaper had Coulthard quoting his dissatisfaction with the move itself and Massa's unwillingness to admit fault.

"I know I screwed up the same way with Alex [Wurz] last year, and took full responsibility for it, and I would expect Felipe to do the same. If he doesn't, I'm going to kick three colours of shit out of the little bastard."
David Coulthard, 2008, after tangling with Felipe Massa.

At the second race in Malaysia Coulthard suffered a bad suspension failure which saw his Red Bull team investigated for car safety. Although cleared to drive, the lack of testing time had a negative impact on his race performance, managing only a 9th place finish. Despite a series of poor performances over the course of the 2008 season he came back and managed to secure a hard fought 3rd place at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, the 62nd podium finish of his Formula One career.

On the Thursday before the 2008 British Grand Prix, Coulthard announced that he would retire at the end of the season, but would remain at Red Bull as a consultant. He retired on lap 1 after colliding with Sebastian Vettel, the driver that would replace at Red Bull in 2009, in his last British Grand Prix.^[5]

For Coulthard's final race, he competed in a car with a one-off livery promoting the charity "Wings for Life". In the event, Coulthard retired in the second corner on the first lap after he was hit from behind by Nico Rosberg's Williams. In his final website blog before the race, Coulthard said, "I was thinking of asking the drivers to keep well clear of me into turn 1 to give me a better chance of finishing my last GP but I know all too well that when the lights go out racing instincts take over."^[6]

Coulthard's last season in Formula One was filled with frequent crashes, mostly not his own fault. By his own admission, his poor qualifying performances put him in the middle of the pack where bumps and scrapes are commonplace. After scoring only 8 points in his final season, Coulthard remained characteristically appreciative of what F1 had given him over the last 15 years.

Post Formula One

Coulthard made his DTM début at Hockenheim in 2010.

At the 2008 Race of Champions, Coulthard made the final only to lose out to Sébastien Loeb.

From 2009, Coulthard has worked on the BBC's F1 coverage as an expert summariser (pundit).^[7] He was also the Red Bull Racing reserve driver for the first two Grands Prix of the 2009 season and is remaining with the team as a consultant and demonstration driver.^[8]

In 2010, Coulthard will compete in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, driving a 2008-spec Mercedes C-Class run by Mücke Motorsport.^[9]

At certain Grands Prix in 2010, when regular Red Bull and Toro Rosso reserve drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Brendon Hartley are competing elsewhere in the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, Coulthard steps in as reserve driver.^[10]

Coulthard was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.^[11]

Personal life

Coulthard has lived for some time in the tax haven principality of Monaco, and also owns homes in London, Belgium and Switzerland. He owns several luxury hotels in Britain and is a former owner of the Columbus Hotel Monaco, which is located in Monaco's Fontvieille.^[12]

On 2 May 2000, while he was leasing the Learjet of friend David Murray, the aeroplane developed engine trouble en route to Côte d'Azur International Airport in Nice, and crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Lyon-Satolas airport, France. Coulthard, his then girlfriend the American model Heidi Wichlinski and personal trainer/bodyguard Andy Matthews survived; Murray's personal pilot David Saunders and co-pilot Dan Worley died.^[13]

On 2 June 2006, he became engaged to Karen Minier, a Belgian Formula One correspondent for French TV channel TF1. The couple planned to marry "in the near future".^[14] On 14 July 2008, in his ITV F1 column, Coulthard confirmed that he and Karen were expecting their first child; Dayton Minier Coulthard was born on November 20, 2008, weighing 2.8 kilograms (6 lb 3 oz).

The museum in his home village dedicated to Coulthard is currently independently run by local fan Wendy McKenzie after previously being run by Coulthard's family. It is now the home of the "Twynosi" (a cross between Twynholm and Italian Ferrari fans, the Tifosi), who gather on race days.

On 7 August 2007, Coulthard released his autobiography, entitled It is What It Is. In it, he admits that he suffered from bulimia as a teenager.^[15]

In 2008 Coulthard acted as best man at the wedding of Chris Hughes and Actress/Presenter Amanda Holden.

Coulthard's second cousin, New Zealander Fabian Coulthard, is also a racing driver,^[16] currently racing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series for Walkinshaw Racing.

In 2010 while working on air for the BBC F1 coverage, he stated that Ferrari had approached him for a drive while he was racing with McLaren. He turned down the offer, because he realised that if he was in the lead of a Grand Prix race and Michael Schumacher was behind him, he would have to move out the way to let him through, and take the lead and win.

Racing record

Career summary

^* - Season in progress

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

• Official Site
• Article on Coulthard's race preparation
• Statistics at planet-f1.com
• David Coulthard Statistics at f1db.com
• BBC article on plane crash
• Interview with Coulthard, mentions breakup.
• David Coulthard statistics
• Crash Investigator : 1995 Australia, David Coulthard

Red Bull Racing Personnel: Dietrich Mateschitz | Christian Horner | Adrian Newey | Helmut Marko Former personnel: Geoff Willis 2010 drivers: 5. Sebastian Vettel | 6. Mark Webber 2011 drivers: 1. Sebastian Vettel | 2. Mark Webber 2010 test drivers: Brendon Hartley | Daniel Ricciardo | David Coulthard 2011 test drivers: TBA World Champions:  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Junior Team: Daniil Kvyat | Carlos Sainz, Jr. | Jean-Eric Vergne Formula One cars: RB1 | RB2 | RB3 | RB4 | RB5 | RB6

Scuderia Toro Rosso Personnel: Franz Tost | Giorgio Ascanelli | Alex Hitzinger Former personnel: Gerhard Berger 2010 drivers: 16. Sébastien Buemi | 17. Jaime Alguersuari 2011 drivers: 18. TBA | 19. TBA 2010 test drivers: Brendon Hartley | Daniel Ricciardo | David Coulthard 2011 test drivers: Daniel Ricciardo Formula One cars: STR1 | STR2/STR2B | STR3 | STR4 | STR5