Coulthard wants to keep F1's big corners

Coulthard's comments come in the aftermath of Luciano Burti's horrific accident during Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, in which the Brazilian careered head-on into a tyre barrier at 150mph. The Scotsman believes that big accidents should not lead to Formula 1 being robbed of its most challenging corners.

The Spa-Francorchamps track is home to the Eau Rouge and Blanchimont corners, and Burti fell foul at the second of the two after tangling with Eddie Irvine's Jaguar. The Brazilian wound up embedded in the tyre wall and suffered concussion and bruising of the brain. But according to Coulthard, changes made to the barrier and run-off area were key to Burti not being more seriously hurt.

"It was a big crash, obviously," said Coulthard. "Between the Grand Prix Drivers Association and Charlie Whiting [race director for motorsport's governing body, the FIA] we've made changes to the run-off there, and it really helped Luciano a lot when he had the accident. But it's a dangerous business. You never like to see that, but that was as big as they come in terms of speed."

Despite the ferocity of Burti's impact, Coulthard is adamant that fast corners should not be slowed down. A chicane was placed at the bottom of Eau Rouge in 1994, but was restored to its former glory for the following year with extended gravel traps.

"Danger is a part of our sport," said Coulthard. "We can't have a series of low speed corners, because that's not what F1 is about. Corners like Eau Rouge are difficult, they are dangerous, but that's Spa.

"What we should try and do is make the run-off areas as safe as possible, to minimise the chances of a driver getting hurt because he hits the barrier. I think that's what we should tackle, rather than changing the tracks."

For full David Coulthard Q&A, click here.