More support for Coulthard

David Coulthard's hopes of beating off the challenge of young drivers for a seat at Red Bull Racing have been given yet a further boost after Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of the energy drinks company that owns the team, admitted that there was almost no question a deal would be put together

Dec 15, 2004, 10:16 AM

Coulthard visited Red Bull Racing's factory earlier this week for a debrief about his recent test for the outfit and, although no contract has been signed yet, there is a growing understanding that both parties want a deal to happen.

Speaking to Austrian newspaper Neue Kronen Zeitung, Mateschitz said: "Coulthard is quick. If someone has won 13 grands prix and also has some personality, need we discuss any more?"

And although there have been some suggestions that Coulthard's test was only a means of allowing driver and team to gain a better understanding of each other, Mateschitz has insisted that the test was a precursor to a race deal.

"If we were only thinking of him as a test driver, we would not have bothered testing him last week," added Mateschitz.