David Coulthard
David Coulthard driving for the [[McLaren
David Coulthard (born March 27, 1971), is a Formula 1 racing driver for the McLaren racing team. He is British and was born in Twynholm in Scotland, but now resides in Monaco.
In 1994 he was a test driver for the Williams racing team when the team's star driver Ayrton Senna was killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Coulthard shared Senna's place in the team for the rest of the season with former champion Nigel Mansell. He was a full-time race driver for Williams in 1995, but left the team and joined McLaren in 1996.
Coulthard's first season with McLaren was unremarkable, and in his second he only gained third place in the drivers' championship through the disqualification of Michael Schumacher. In 1998 and 1999 he was in the fastest car on the track, but a combination of underperformance and bad luck saw him trail in third and fourth in those two seasons behind his team-mate Mika Häkkinen. In 2000 he was involved in a tight battle for the championship with Schumacher and Häkkinen but fell out of contention to finish third again. In 2001 he finished second, but with barely half the points of runaway winner Schumacher. Subsequent years were disappointing, and with the announcement that Juan Pablo Montoya will join McLaren in 2005 it seems likely that 2004 will be Coulthard's last with the team.
He, his personal trainer, and then-fiancee Heidi Wichlinski escaped a plane crash in May 2000. The Learjet they were travelling developed engine trouble, and crashed on attempting landing at Lyon-Salotas airport near Lyon, France. Coulthard and Wichlinski received minor injuries; the front of the plane disintegrated killing both the pilots.
He and Wichlinski broke off their engagement in early 2001. According to tabloid reportage, he was seen with a number of women in this period; however, in a BBC interview, Coulthard stated that stories attributing his breakup to this was "out of date and inaccurate", and "frustrating and embarrassing". As of May 2004, he remains single.
Formula 1 results
Championship positions and podiums:
External links
| Constructors and drivers currently competing in the Formula One championship: | ||||||||||
| Ferrari | Williams | McLaren | Renault | BAR | Sauber | Jaguar | Toyota | Jordan | Minardi | |
| 1 Michael Schumacher>Schumacher 2 Barrichello | 3 Juan Pablo Montoya>Montoya 4 Schumacher | 5 David Coulthard>Coulthard 6 Räikkönen | 7 Jarno Trulli>Trulli 8 Alonso | 9 Jenson Button>Button 10 Sato | 11 Giancarlo Fisichella>Fisichella 12 Massa | 14 Mark Webber>Webber 15 Klien | 16 Cristiano da Matta>da Matta 17 Panis | 18 Nick Heidfeld>Heidfeld 19 Pantano | 20 Gianmaria Bruni>Bruni 21 Baumgartner | |