IT'S 35 YEARS since Jackie Stewart completed his hat-trick of Formula One World Championships by finishing fourth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Any – now misplaced – thoughts that David Coulthard would become the next Scot to claim motorsport's highest prize disappeared on Thursday when he confirmed he is to retire from racing.
Coulthard, no matter how hard he argues the point otherwise, will always be seen as the 'nearly man' of F1. Speak with anyone in authority in the sport and all will insist he possessed all the talent to lift the championship. He was fast, committed,
utterly professional and acknowledged as one of the best development drivers in the industry.
But he never won the world championship. Why? When asked that question, most people focus on his early years spent at McLaren-Mercedes where he partnered Mika Hakkinen. Coulthard, even by his own admission, knew that if any McLaren driver was to win the championship, it was going to be the Finn, simply because he had the full backing of team boss Ron Dennis. We will never fully know what went on behind the scenes at the infamous 1997 race at Jerez when Coulthard was instructed to let Hakkinen pass him on the last lap to claim a maiden grand prix victory, and more importantly in the 1998 and '99 seasons when Hakkinen won his two world titles.
But rather than focus on the shenanigans at McLaren, if the Scot was to have won the championship perhaps his best chance would actually have come if he had been allowed to remain at Williams. It was with them that, in 1994, he made his debut at the Circuit de Catalunya just weeks after the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola.
The following year, partnering Damon Hill, Coulthard won his first grand prix at Estoril in Portugal and finished third in the championship behind Michael Schumacher and Hill. The Englishman could see the rising talent – and threat – of the young Scot and made his feelings plain that he would prefer that Coulthard was moved on.
In 1996 Coulthard was indeed moved on, to McLaren. Hill, meanwhile won seven races en-route to winning his only world championship. Had the Scot been allowed to stay at Williams, such was his rapid levels of improvement, it's not unlikely he could have overtaken Hill. The championship could have been Coulthard's.
The years at McLaren were ultimately financially beneficial for the Scot, now a multi-millionaire based in Monaco. Grands prix victories came – he won 12 for McLaren – but so too did criticism. Critics claimed he was 'too soft', 'too nice', 'wasn't hard enough', 'didn't have the killer instinct'. All that, of course, was tosh.
Yes he made mistakes; but ultimately Coulthard was – still is, as we hopefully will see at Silverstone today – one of the fastest F1 drivers in the sport's history. He is hugely respected within the paddock and F1, yet so many Brits – and particularly Scots – knock him. It's the Scottish psyche: "If yer no' world champ, then ye cannae really be a' that guid."
Let's put Coulthard's achievements in perspective. Grand prix starts: 237; 13 grands prix victories and 533 championship points, the fourth-highest in history. Respect where it's due.
So what of the future? Where's the next Scottish F1 racer? Of the current crop, Bathgate's Paul di Resta is the most likely. He was European F3 champ two years ago – a series in which he outpaced Germany's Sebastien Vittel who, because he carries huge amounts of sponsorship, has already progressed to F1. Di Resta is also battling for the German Touring Car Championship, and is part of the Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Development Programme. Friends with Lewis Hamilton, the 22-year-old has already driven the McLaren F1 car.
Di Resta may be the name for the future. Until then, let's give Coulthard the respect he deserves.
The full article contains 672 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
