Everybody in the F1 world knows David Coulthard as “DC”. In his 247 GP races, he finished 62 times on the podium ; 13 F1 victories.
His father ran a little transport business in Twynholm, Scotland. There he was born in 1971 and had a happy childhood with an older brother and a younger sister. At the age of 11, he was karting seriously and success came quickly with three Scottish junior titles. He moved up the ladder with driving in the UK. That meant leaving in a motor home with his parents and helper on friday afternoon, hard racing on English circuits and back to home on Sunday night. In that time he quickly learned to being focussed. He maintained his own kart and kept notes on his driving performance, what went wrong and what could be better. Crucial in these days was a prominent kart-person Dave Boyce; he tuned the kart. David gradually progressed up the karting ladder and raced all over Europe.
His father then suggested he start racing in the Formula Ford. He learned again new things and enjoyed it. He came under the wings of David Leslie, based in Carlisle. .jpg)
David’s first year car year was sensational. As well as having the most highly polished car and helmet on the grid, he scored 22 wins out of 28 races. He won the Star of Tomorrow title and the P&O Ferries title and got the first McLaren/Autosport Young driver award (photo top left).
Then he got a call from Jackie Stewart and joined the Paul Stewart Racing for a year in the Formula Vauxhall Lotus next to Gil de Ferran. It was a difficult year. He clearly lacked the experience and broke a leg in an accident at Spa. However, he was P05 in the championship (photo top right)
In 1991 he did F3 in a PSR Ralt RT55-Mugen. He had five wins, but lost the championship to Rubens Barichello when in the last race he hesitated a moment to overtake Hikedi Noda, bending the front wing. David also won the F3 Masters at Zandvoort and Macau.
David Coulthard remained in the Stewart clan for 1992. The Judd engines were not strong, so the season was terrible. Only two P03 (Nogaro and Magny-Cours) and a ninth place in the championship. For the next season, PSR wanted 500.000 pounds. No way that Coulthard could raise that money. He went to the Pacific Racing, a team with a lower-budget set-up. He did win the race at Enna and going into the last race of the season, he was in the running for the title. But when the throttle pedal broke in the first lap, he ended third in the championship.
A top experience for 1993 came after a phone call from Tom Walkinshaw. He needed urgently a driver next to John Nielsen and David Brabham in one of his Jaguar XJ220. When at a pitstop the car fell off its jack onto Brabham’s foot, Nielsen and Coulthard had to do most of the driving. Even with the need to save fuel and a gearbox issue, they won the GT class. They were disqualified week later.
The second top experience was becoming full-time Williams test driver next to Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and with Williams new-signing Ayrton Senna in 1994. Because David wanted to influence the car’s development and not wanting anybody else take his place, he did a lot of testing. He got familiar with the team and the car.
He started the season in the F3000 Vortex team, run by Ronnie Meadows. He finished second in the first race, but there was no budget for round 2. But that weekend Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola and then the world changed for Coulthard.
In Monaco 1994, the Williams team entered only one for Damon Hill. There would be a testing session at Jerez for Hill and Coulthard; the press had announced numerous names as test drivers that day. At his first run, David damaged the car at the chicane. Frank Williams did not held that against him, instead he was invited to drive for Williams for the Barcelona GP. The deal was on a race-to-race basis shared with Nigel Mansell, who had also some Indycar obligations.
In Spain DC had limited time to drive the FW16 because of a driver’s strike, but he qualified P09. In the race he climbed up to sixth before electronic problems put him out of his first F1 race. In Canada he finished P5 despite cramps in his back. At Silverstone, points again (P6). After a fourth place in Belgium he was starting to get more confidence. Hill wanted to win the championship, so their approach to the Monza race was different. He had respect for Damon, but a different agenda. In the race, David was leading after the mid-race pitstops and he got a call to let Hill pass. He did and then the car had no more fuel on the last lap. In Portugal, the Williams boys had a 1-2 finish. The last races were for Mansell.
In October, Coulthard was negotiating a two year deal with Williams for 1995/6. But Ron Dennis also wanted him at McLaren. When the signing had to be done, Williams offered him a one-year deal. Disappointed, David signed a letter of intent at Mclaren. Williams took this to court. The outcome was racing at Williams in 1995 for 500.000 pounds. DC, however loved the approach of Frank Williams and Patrick Head and so he had good F1 year in he FW17-Renault. In total 8 podiums (P2 in Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Pacific GP) and a first victory (with Pole and fastest lap) at Estoril. At Estoril, only his 21th race, he had Michael Schumacher hunting him down, but he stayed concentrated and really deserved that win. He finished third overall in the championship.
.jpg)
DC moved to the very different atmosphere of McLaren for 1996. He would remain there for nine years. For six of them his team-mate was Mika Hakkinen, who yet had to win a GP. When David joined, Hakkinen was still recovering from a dreadful accident in Adelaide. David had the feeling that Mika had a little better support and that got under his skin in those 9 years. Despite that it was David that gave McLaren a new win after 49 races for them without any victory. DC had two podium finishes in 1996; he finished second in Monaco and third in The European GP, ending P7 in the championship.
In his second year, 1997, he first won in Adelaide and later in the year in Monza at the wheel of the MP4/12- Mercedes.When Mika finally took a win in Jerez, it was only because Coulthard was told to move over for him. In 1997 David was third in the standings, three positions ahead of Hakkinen.
In 1998, the season started in Adelaide. Here again he was ordered to let Hakkinen through. David won the San Marino GP. His overall season was good with six second places and two third places and three pole-positions. Again a third place in the championship with the MP4/13- Mercedes.
Two wins again in 1999 (England, Belgium) and four second places to end the season in P4. David, however, had started the season with two DNF and could not recover from that during the year.
In May 2000, he was in a eight-seat Lear 45 jet on his way to Nice when there were engine troubles over France. The emergency landing did not go well and the plane crashed heavily. Both pilots were killed; Coulthard had only minor injuries. Two days later he was in the MP4/15 for the Spanish GP. With broken ribs, he finished second after Hakkinen! Normally, team boss Ron Dennis not wanted his drivers to keep the trophy they win; it belonged to McLaren. But this time, David could keep his P2 trophy. DC won three races that year: England, Monaco and France and was 8 other times also on the podium. Again a third place in the championship ! The results kept coming in 2001 with a win in Brazil and Austria (MP4/16-Mercedes), three times second (Australia,San Marino, Belgium) and 5 third places. This time DC finished the championship as second behind the Ferrari of Schumacher. The next year, DC was king in the streets of Monaco. In total six podiums brought him to P5 in the standings. The 2003 season was less successful with only a win in Australia, a P2 in Germany and a P3 in Japan. No podium finishes in 2004 with the MP4/19 (B), but points in 9 races.
.jpg)
1999
Monaco 2000 2001 Spain
2001 2002
2002 2004
At the end of 2004, after nine years and a season with a P4 as his best result, McLaren replaced Coulthard with Juan Pablo Montoya. DC wanted to remain in F1. He got into talks with Frank Williams and Jaguar. But then Red Bull took over and he met Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss. DC immediately got the drive and became the leader of the team.
In red Bull’s first race, Melbourne 2005, he finished fourth. Christian Horner gave him a very big hugh. David repeated P4 in the European GP and got P6 In Malaysia and Japan. All good for a P12 in the championship with the Red Bull RB1.
In 2006 there was a Ferrari engine in the RB2. Again DC in action: a podium for the first time for the team: a third spot in the Monaco GP. DC had a total of four top eight finishes that year. It was also David Coulthard who made the initial contact with Adrian Newey to get him in the Read Bull team. In 2007 with the RB3-Renault, David scored his best result in a rain soaked Japanese GP, a P4 after starting P18. For that race he wore a helmet of Colin McRae, who had died in a helicopter crash two weeks earlier. DC was just in the top 10 of the championship standings.
David’s last F1 podium came in Canada in 2008; he then already made his decision to quit. He announced it publicly during the British GP. That November in Brazil he raced his 246th and final F1 race (see photos below). However, his last race ended within seconds of the start. His was being punted into a spin at the first corner by Nico Rosberg and then he was hit by Kazuki Nakajima. Out for good after 15 years in F1.
2005 2006
Life became very different for him. He went living together with his partner Karen Minier, with whom he was engaged in 2006. He got a son in 2008 and got involved in various businesses and TV commentating. But, he missed racing. He got a place in the Mücke Motorsport Mercedes team for the DTM in 2010. DC definitive retired in 2012.
After that experience, he went to be a BBC Tv commentator with Martin Brundle. Still available for the F1TV shows, so the long relation between David and the F1 is still going on.
For the statistics: DC did 246 GP starts, had 13 wins,12 pole positions and a total of 535 points.
