David Coulthard, otherwise known as DC, is the Scottish racer and commentator we all know and love. Coulthard spent 15 years travelling the globe, in the pinnacle of motorsports, Formula 1.
After winning a string of Scottish karting titles in the mid 1980s. Coulthard took the leap to Formula Ford, F3000 and F3, David managed to finish in the top three for all of these championships.
In 1991 DC was beaten to the British Formula 3 title by another rising star, Rubens Barrichello, even though DC won the most races, including Zandvoort and Macau. By 1993 the Scotsman had his big break, DC was appointed as a test driver for Williams. But, it wasn't until the following year that David would get his race debut, unfortunately, this came after the death of Brazilian legend, Ayrton Senna. Coulthard was then signed as a Formula 1 race driver for Williams for the 1994 season.
DC partnered Damon Hill in the FW16 and ended up sharing the car with the then returning Nigel Mansell for the remainder of the season. Coulthard continued with Williams for the following season where he secured his first win and finished third in the championship.
In 1995 David had signed two contracts for two different teams for a period of three years. Williams had offered a one year contract for the 1995 season, whilst Ron Dennis of McLaren was offering a two year contract for the following seasons of 1996 and 1997.
McLaren were far from competitive in the first season with David finishing seventh in the championship. However, by 1997 DC managed to secure his first race win with McLaren and finished third in the championship overall. But, if David had stayed with Williams for a further two years, the Championship dream could have been his...
DC spent a total of nine years at McLaren where he partnered Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Raikkonen. He was even offered a Ferrari drive, but with the clause of being a number two driver to Michael Schumacher.
In 2005, Coulthard made the trek to the new Red Bull Racing team where he managed to secure the teams first ever podium position twice. DC spent four years with the drinks team, until his retirement from the sport in 2008.
David has since been on our screens as a commentator and journalist for Channel 4.
Even though David Coulthard never achieved the World Championship, he often took on the best and beat them. David has won 13 Formula One races, secured 62 podiums, 12 pole positions and has raced in 247 races. As well as securing not one but two wins in Monaco, an amazing feat for anyone challenging those infamous streets. It's fair to say David Coulthard is one of Britains greats.
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