Coulthard Set for Another Milestone

The Scot, about to overtake Nigel Mansell's 187 races after becoming the highest British points scorer this year, was proud of the achievement.

"I think I'm fourth in the all-time points, ahead of (Brazilian Nelson) Piquet," he added. "It's difficult to beat Michael (Schumacher), (Ayrton) Senna and (Alain) Prost in points but nonetheless...

"It's not a World Championship but you don't end up doing that amount of Grands Prix and scoring as many points as I have by accident," added the Scot, who has scored 494.

Schumacher has 1,233 while Prost scored 798.5 and the late Brazilian Senna 614.

Although Formula One seasons were far shorter in the sport's early years, with as few as seven or eight races, Coulthard's career longevity is impressive.

Former champions Damon Hill and Jackie Stewart retired after 115 and 99 races respectively while Graham Hill did 176.

"Irrespective of what anyone else's opinion is of me, I can still be proud of having had the longevity and the points scoring results that I've had in Formula One," said Coulthard.

Coulthard, runner-up to Schumacher in the 2001 World Championship while at McLaren, has won 13 races - more than any other active driver other than Ferrari's seven times World Champion.

With a new contract for next year with Red Bull, he can also expect to join the handful of drivers who have competed in more than 200 races.

"I'm delighted about that," he said. "That's a great number to aim for and I hope very much I am able to do that."