David Coulthard Quotes

I don`t have very strong views one way or another, but over the last four or five years, there have been so many changes and I am just nervous of continually changing regulations,

I`m not sure it`s as dramatic as it being the end of an era,

What`s remarkable is not that they are having a difficult year this year, but how incredible their performance was for five straight years. They redefined Formula One,

If he`s got the opportunity, he should come and have a go. If he does, he is going to have to start winning very quickly or people will start losing interest in him. Just because you are good at one thing, doesn`t mean you`d be good at another.

No-one, not even Michael Schumacher, has the best seat year in, year out.

It`s even more difficult here when you`re running in traffic. There are so many trees, the spray doesn`t dissipate and you have difficulty seeing the circuit, which can be pretty horrible.

Wet conditions are always difficult, but are especially so at Spa due to the length of the track,

We face the biggest risk here of any circuit we race on. The danger isn`t so much hitting the tyre barriers as hitting another car that has already spun. Visibility is already an issue and that adds to the risk. The spray does not clear. The trees hold the moisture. You cannot see a thing in the spray.

Go speak to the FIA. There`s a start system in place. As the lights started to change I went. It doesn`t matter what the drivers think.

I am not motivated by recognition, I just do things I like doing - racing, shagging, eating and drinking.

When David first met the Spice Girls, the pop stars had no idea who he was:

DC: I`m David Coulthard, the driver.

Spice Girl: Oh, right. What time are you coming to pick us up, then? (edit)

David: (on racing an F1 car) It`s like that great magical moment when you meet someone you haven`t seen for a while but were emotionally close to.... Or that first kiss... that tingling feeling you can`t quite explain, but it feels good and you wish you could tell somebody about it. (edit)

In June 2005, David was interviewed by ITV`s Louise Goodman before the start of the Canadian Grand Prix.



Louise: Have you been practising with that pit lane speed limiter?

David: Yeah I have. I`ve just been imagining it`s your nipples. I`m being a bit more gentle with it when I take my finger off it at the end of the pit lane! (edit)

David: The start of my career was pretty difficult as it came about after Roland and Ayrton had died at the San Marino GP in Imola. Williams ran only one car in the following race, Monaco, as a mark of respect for Ayrton and then made me a Grand Prix driver at the Spanish GP in 1994, so my opportunity definitely came with mixed emotions. (edit)

David: As for my best performance, that would be Magny Cours 2001. I had to overtake Rubens and Michael and I was stronger than my team-mate all weekend. Mika was a great benchmark for me because he was so fast. I had a real battle to pass Michael which resulted in me giving him `that hand signal` and I`ve still got the photograph of the incident on top of the TV in my motorhome!" (edit)

David: (abusing Juan Pablo Montoya in the press after qualifying at the 2006 British GP) I wouldn`t waste my time by going to see Juan Pablo. It would be like going to a zoo and trying to communicate with a chimpanzee. We speak a different language and have a different racing etiquette, so there is no point talking to him. (edit)

David: (refuting rumours he will retire after the 2006 season) Michael Schumacher is older than me and he is still winning. I go every year to a clinic ... where they check everything out. I know that I am fit and well and not about to die. I am not retiring. Why can`t people understand this? (edit)

David: (taking a dig at a few of his colleagues) I don`t pay for my cockpit or have a father who drove in Formula One - I am still here because my team believes that I bring them value by performing at the highest level. (edit)

David: I destroyed a Williams on the day that Frank (Williams) came to Jerez to tell me I`d got the drive for this (his first) grand prix. I had never damaged a Williams in the two years that I had driven there. Nothing. I still don`t know today whether I dropped it or something broke. (edit)

David: (on speculation he is to retire) I`m irritated to have to answer questions based on the fact I was born in 1971. The statistics show I am quicker in the races than Mark and the car telemetry shows it too. End of story. (edit)

David: (revealing he was once bulimic) I stopped eating fattening food and, before I knew what had happened, I was bulimic. In my mind the only way I could keep my weight down was by making myself vomit. At first I was just very, very lean. I became skin and bone, but I weighed myself every morning, noon and night - in the evening if I was half a pound heavier, I`d get in the pool and swim.

David: (on the tragic death of Colin McRae in a helicopter accident in September 2007) It`s shocking, Colin was a friend, as is his lovely wife Alison and the family. So obviously there`s disbelief here in the whole paddock that the McRaes have been affected in this way, and obviously another family as well. It`s tragic circumstances.

David: (joking that Felipe Massa should apologise for their crash during the 2008 Aus GP) If he doesn`t, then I`m gonna kick three colours of shit out of the little bastard.

David: (joking about trying to avoid a fine for missing the drivers` parade at the 2008 Spanish GP) When I was with the stewards I said thank you for hearing what I had to say about the race, but can we talk about another event. I said: `You`ve fined me 4,000 Euros, I`ve done 230-odd grands prix and never missed one except for Malaysia where I was ill and in the medical centre. So that`s 4,000 Euros out of my children`s inheritance!` There was no reaction from them. No smile or anything. So I then said to them: `Okay, let`s cut it to 2000 Euros if I pay in cash.` Still no reaction. So I then asked (FIA representative) Alan Donnelly if he could translate that, because that is somewhat funny in English. But he said it was only funny in Scottish... I`ve told Karen (fiancé) no shopping and next week no food on the table. We`ll take the pain together!

David: (announcing his retirement from Formula One racing at the end of the 2008 season) I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula One at the end of this season. I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing focusing on testing and development of the cars.

David: (on what he`s going to miss about Formula One after he retires) The adrenaline rush of the pressure and intensity of getting out there and having to do it against the clock.

David: Years ago I had the theory that ultimately I wanted a boat, a place by the sea, a city place and a place in the mountains and when I was lucky enough to have each of those I wanted to know which one I enjoyed the most. And I realised I enjoyed them all in equal measures, just at different times of the year.

David (after being taken out of his final ever F1 GP on the 2nd corner) I`m pretty gutted, it`s not how I wanted to end my career. I took a cautious approach into Turn one and left plenty of space for the car on the inside, but unfortunately I think Rosberg hit me though Turn two, which spun me round. I thought it would be okay, but then Nakajima ran into the front of my car and took off the front corner. I felt good on the warm up laps going to the grid, I had no problem with it being wet and I wanted to get to the chequered flag. I was going to do some doughnuts for the crowd, which is something you normally get fined for, but it didn`t work out.

I can`t complain though, I`ve had a good career, so thank you to everyone who has supported me. Thank you also to the efforts of every member of the Red Bull Racing team for the last four years, which have been a lot of fun, I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future. I`ve been overwhelmed by the level of support I`ve had from the paddock this weekend, it means a great deal to me that so many people have taken the time to say `nice career and good luck with the future`. And, in the absence of a World Championship, I think if I can leave with that, then that`s a good ending.

"I'm very pleased to be contesting the DTM series once more in 2011 for Mercedes-Benz," ... "My year of apprenticeship is over--now I'm looking to make some real progress."