Coulthard accepts support role
David Coulthard has accepted he will have to play second fiddle to Mika Hakkinen in the Malaysian Grand Prix
The Scot has his sights set on victory but just as Michael Schumacher has agreed to defer to Ferrari teammate Eddie Irvine, Coulthard has said Hakkinen's title ambitions now come first for the sake of the team.
'When it comes to this stage the worst thing would be for Eddie or Heinz-Harald to come through and win the title in Suzuka if Mika fails,' he said.
'I would love to win the Sepang race.
'But I am working for the team and the understanding is that, at this stage, it comes down to who has a better chance of winning the title.
'And Mika is the one who is in better contention for the world championship. He is leading the points and has 12 more than me.'
The Scot believes McLaren will continue their tortuous route to the title and the fight will go all the way to Japan even though Hakkinen will, he believes, ultimately win it.
For Hakkinen to triumph in Malaysia he will have to win and Irvine finish outside the top four.
'Personally I think the world championship will be decided in Japan,' said Coulthard.
Share Or Save This Story
How McLaren picked up each of its record 12 Brazil F1 wins
How Red Bull arrived in F1 as a "breath of fresh air" 20 years ago
David Coulthard's top 10 greatest F1 drives
No denying it now – the one reason why F1’s ‘horrible’ start in Malaysia could be a good thing
Inside Alonso's decision to contest the 2027 Dakar Rally with Aston Martin
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
MotoGP to introduce sprint qualifying amid 2027 format changes
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments