David Coulthard

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David Coulthard
Coulthard signing autographs at the 2005 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Nationality	British
Car #	14
Current team	Red Bull
World Championship career
Races	213 (212 starts)
World Championships	0
Wins	13
Podium finishes	61
Pole positions	12
Fastest laps	18
First race	1994 Spanish Grand Prix
First win	1995 Portuguese Grand Prix
Latest win	2003 Australian Grand Prix
Latest race	2007 Australian Grand Prix
2006 Championship position	12th (14 Points)

David Marshall Coulthard (born March 27, 1971 in Twynholm, Dumfries and Galloway)(Kirkcudbrightshire), is a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland. He is a successful driver in the current era of the sport with 13 grand prix victories. By virtue of a long, consistent and careful career, much of it spent in top teams, he has amassed a large points haul, and lies fifth on the all-time scorers list, being the top British scorer. He currently drives for Red Bull Racing.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Karting 1.2 To F1 1.3 Williams 1.4 McLaren 1.5 Red Bull 2 Personal life 3 Complete Formula One results 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Karting

Coulthard began karting at an early age, graduating to Formula Ford in 1989. His performance was so impressive that 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, yet still came back the following year to win Formula 3 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.

[edit] To F1

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 tragic death at Imola, was promoted to the race team alongside Damon Hill for Barcelona. 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 at Estoril. For the last three races he had to sit back and watch Mansell take his place, but it was he, and not Nigel, who would race for Williams full-time in 1995.

[edit] Williams

The season saw him demonstrate his undoubted pace, and he won the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix. There were races where he could have won, but poor luck and mistakes once more cost him. He did score five pole positions however, four of them consecutively. Some unforced errors tarnished his season however: at Monza he spun off on the formation lap, whilst in Adelaide he crashed coming into the pits.

[edit] McLaren

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 Jerez he was on course to win after Jacques Villeneuve moved over, but McLaren ordered him to surrender the win to Häkkinen. 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.

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. Hakkinen 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, causing David to freeze up (i.e. develop stage-fright) during his hot lap. He openly admitted that he did not like the format and was a vocal opponent of the format. 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 ninth place finish in the final 2004 standings (24 points, equal with the injured Ralf Schumacher) hadn't helped Coulthard's cause for 2005 either.

[edit] Red Bull

Signed by Red Bull Racing for 2005, the team were attracted by Coulthard's experience. 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, to prolong Coulthard's Formula One career to at least the end of 2006. David's stint at Red Bull was a renewal for the Scottish driver scoring points in many races and becoming one of the more outspoken and media savvy drivers.

For 2006, he continued at Red Bull, partnered with Christian Klien. For 2006, Red Bull Racing 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 August 7th 2006 the day after the Hungarian Grand Prix where Coulthard finished 5th, it was announced the he has extended his contract with Red Bull Racing for 2007 and will team up with Mark Webber.

Among active F1 drivers, Coulthard has the second most wins (13) behind Fernando Alonso. Coulthard is the highest-scoring British driver ever with 500 points (as of the 2006 Australian Grand Prix), 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, David Coulthard scored his first podium finish with Red Bull Racing, his best result with the team and also the teams first podium finish. During the trophy presentation, Coulthard wore a red cape as the team was promoting the upcoming film "Superman Returns". His impressive form in the 2006 season has seen him secure a contract extension for the 2007 season where he will be partnered by Australian Mark Webber who joins from Williams.

[edit] Personal life

Coulthard has resided for some time in the tax haven principality of Monaco, and also owns homes in London and Switzerland. He owns several luxury hotels in Britain and Monaco, including the Columbus, which is located in Monaco's Fontvieille.

Coulthard, along with his personal trainer and then-fiancée Heidi Wichlinski, escaped death in a May 2000 plane crash. The Learjet in which they were travelling developed engine trouble, and crashed while attempting to land at Lyon-Salotas airport near Lyon, France. While Coulthard luckily received only minor injuries, the front of the aircraft disintegrated upon impact, killing both pilots.

Coulthard has a tabloid chequered history in his personal relationships: according to tabloid reports, he has been associated with a number of women. However, in a BBC interview, Coulthard vigorously denied these claims, stating that the tabloid reports were "out of date and inaccurate." He has been associated with a string of women, including supermodel Heidi Klum, Lady Victoria Hervey, and models Andrea Murray and Ruth Taylor. He has been engaged to models Heidi Wichlinski and Simone Abdelnour ^[1]. One established fact however, is that he is good friends with 'two sugars' - cricketer Phil Tufnell. On 2 June 2006, He became engaged to Karen Minier, a former F1 correspondent from Belgium, after a whirlwind romance and plans on marrying as soon as possible. ^[2]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)