Sunday was a landmark day for British motorsport in more ways than one. The Brazilian Grand Prix was David Coulthard’s 246th and last race, bringing down the curtain on a career which has seen him notch up thirteen race victories and 62 podiums.
But how will Coulthard be remembered? As that “square jawed Scot?” As a nearly man? Perhaps as one of the greats?
You feel that DC is some off way off the latter, but his 535 drivers’ championship points place him fifth on the list of all time scorers and in exalted company: only Schumacher, Prost, Senna and Alonso have scored more. On this basis, it could be argued that Coulthard is one of the finest drivers never to have won the title.
Always the bridesmaid
Coulthard was unfortunate to be at his most competitive in the days of Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen, who dominated the drivers’ championship between 1998 and 2006. He came pretty close to the title on a number of occasions, finishing runner up to Schumacher in 2001; albeit with barely half the points amassed by the German. He was third in the title race a total of four times and cultivated a reputation as a driver who possessed great talent but was unable to build an effective championship challenge.
He is often accused of being a poor qualifier and his 12 career poles from nearly 250 races would suggest that he wasn’t the quickest over a single lap. Indeed five of those came consecutively in his first full season with Williams, leaving him with only seven poles since 1995. But Coulthard has always been a racer who, on his day, could match anyone. One of the Scot’s best drives came at the 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix, in the wet, when he beat Schumacher – whose prowess in the rain was legendary – into second place, with a memorable pass. His superb win in Monaco in 2002 and his two consecutive victories at Silverstone, in 1999 and 2000, also stand out as highlights, in a career that spanned 15 seasons.
Gentleman
Coulthard is regarded as a gentleman within the F1 paddock. For his final race he arranged for his car to be run in a specially designed livery to support the Wings For Life charity, of which the 37 year-old is a patron. That the teams agreed wholeheartedly to allow Red Bull to run two cars with different liveries is surely a sign of the esteem in which the Scot is held.
Coulthard has been refreshingly honest throughout his career: as keen to point to his own mistakes as to criticise others. When it was suggested that there wasn’t much that he could have done about his accident at Sunday’s Grand Prix, the Scot’s response was typical: “If I had qualified a bit higher up the grid away from them maybe it would have helped.”
Brazil
Coulthard’s hopes for his final race were modest. “The one thing I really hope is that I’ll see the chequered flag,” he told ITV. Sadly he had barely made it through the first corner when Nico Rosberg needlessly ran into the back of him. Coulthard was entirely blameless but you couldn’t help feeling that this sad little vignette rather summed up a final season which has seen more than its fair share of punts and shunts.
It was a slightly embarrassing way to go out – although not nearly as embarrassing as ITV’s goodbye ‘musical montage.’ They also bade farewell to F1 followers on Sunday – after twelve years of coverage – but in skin crawling fashion. The distressing sight of Steve Ryder et al miming to My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade” will live long in the memory.
Perhaps they should have taken a leaf out of DC’s book. His final appearance for Red Bull, in a car sporting the livery of his favourite charity, represented a dignified exit for one of the most doughty and determined competitors in F1’s recent history and one of Britain’s most underappreciated sportsmen.