Coulthard retires from F1

July 6, 2008 by Dominic Alder

David Coulthard will retire from racing in Formula at the end of his 18th season this year.
In the announcement, Coulthard said “my decision was taken earlier this year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive”. “I’m still enjoying the immense challenge that Grand Prix driving represents. I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport”.

Coulthard started in Formula One in 1994 with Williams at the Spanish Grand Prix, after Ayrton Senna was killed in San Marino. Whilst Hill struggled in 1995 against Schumacher and Benetton, Coulthard had a strong full season, with five poles and a win the Portuguese Grand Prix, finishing third in the championship. His season came to an embarrassing end when he crashed in the pitlane whilst leading the Australian GP.
Would Coulthard have been 1996 world champion if Williams had not replaced him with Jacques Villeneuve? Damon Hill won eight races to take the title, but Villeneuve was clearly the faster driver by the season end. Coulthard may have been as quick from the start of season.

Coulthard ended up at McLaren alongside Mika Hakkinen in 1996. 1997 was arguably his best season in F1. He was competitive throughout and faster than his team-mate, winning 2 races in a fragile and unreliable McLaren.

Over the next three seasons, Coulthard would be little more than wing-man to Hakkinen as the fight was brought to Schumacher and Ferrari. Hakkinen’s performances were occasionally breathtaking, but Coulthard rarely had the same pace and often struggled if the car was difficult to set up. As a result, Hakkinen was favoured for the drivers championships by the McLaren team. Coulthard leapfrogged a disillusioned Hakkinen in 2001 to finish runner-up, but was no match for a dominant Schumacher, regardless of what the history books may say.

Juan Pablo Montoya replaced Coulthard in 2004, and he joined the new Red Bull Racing team. In the final years of his career Coulthard provided a steady and experienced hand against his young team-mates. Red Bull valued his ability to develop the car and the knowledge he brought from Williams and McLaren. Coulthard himself still looked determined to succeed, but Red Bull rarely rose from the very middle of the mid-field.

He will move to a consultancy role for Red Bull, and will offer advice on testing and development in a role similar to Michael Schumacher’s at Ferrari.

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