The full Coulthard Q & A

Henry Hope-Frost: You started 193 Grands Prix. You won 13. You have 12 pole positions and 18 fastest laps. And with 499 points, you are the most successful British driver ever. How do you feel about that?

David Coulthard: I guess I should pay more attention to the statistics, but I only knew about that 499 points things because Louise Goodman said to me before the last GP that I could go over 500 points if I score. So of course, I finished ninth... I didn't score any points. Classic.

HHF: It makes for a very good read, actually. You must be proud of what you have achieved over the years.

DC: It's things like that, when I sat with my father, when I remember as wee boy watching the GPs and dreaming one day of racing in F1. You know, I'm well aware there's a split feeling as to whether I'm any good or not. And statistics can be read in many different ways. But I didn't score those points by accident. And I'm still racing clearly in F1 and enjoying it.

So, yeah, I'm really proud of those results. And it's the quiet moments with the family - the people that really helped you all the way back from the beginning - that you feel most proud.

HHF: 12 months ago you said you weren't sure what to expect with your move after many years with McLaren to Red Bull. You had a fantastic season; in fact, you scored as many points las year in you first year with Red Bull as you did in your last year with McLaren, and you lead races... very, very pleasing

DC: Yeah, and it also shows what a crap the last year I had with McLaren was! No, it was very satisfying because this is a business of opinions, and all the opinions at the start of last year... But clearly we didn't know just what to expect prior to the start of the season, and I saw the challenges as taking the good bits of Jaguar, which there were many, and trying to strengthen the weak areas, relative to what McLaren had had. So the start system, some of the reliability of the car, things like that.

The existing designers who crossed over from Jaguar to Red Bull did a good job, and we were able to basically have a reasonable package. It was always one sec behind the fastest car - which in F1 is light years and obviously not good enough, but enough to establish credibility in the pitlane, and we've used that to attract a number of key people, which will hopefully contribute to the success in the future.

HHF: It was a huge announcement recently, in the securing of Adrian Newey to Red Bull Racing - a man whose cars you've done all your winning in. So a Coulthard-Newey partnership at Red Bull Racing should bear fruit

DC: Well that's my motivation, you know. I'm stuck on 13 wins, which is a horrible number. Obviously if I hadn't moved over a couple of times then I would have had more. But I'd like to add a 14th, and as you say all my victories have been in Adrian's cars, and the motivation is to be in a 2007 car which he has played his part in, and so get my finger out and try to do a good job this year.

HHF: Obviously he joined the team after RB2 was created. How much influence will he have on the new car?

DC: Well he came to the test in Jerez this week and it was great to see, you know, he had his headset on, he had his clipboard out, and he was taking notes, and occasionally he'll come and try and play a part in the engineering of the car as well. And he's just an absolute all-rounder; he can design, he can drive - he does some hobby racing - and he can race-engineer a car.

So I think that this enthusiasm and that experience will take the team forward. As to how quickly his influence will play a part in the success of the team, then we just need to get into the year. But at the moment we don't know whether we're going to be more competitive than last year, or whether we're going to be worse of. We won't know that until we get to Bahrain.

HHF: He's still in a march over many of his rivals in aerodynamics, which is such a key element in modern F1 design. What's the secret, and why haven't people come along and better what Adrian does?

DC: It's just a natural talent. there's always exceptional people in any sport, in any field. And clearly for more than a decade Adrian has been the leader in his field. As I said, an all-rounder, because he's not just on the drawing board back in an office, theorising how quick a racing car can be. He likes to be at the race track, he likes to deal with the problems that are real, inherent in making a race car achieve a fast lap time.

So I enjoy working with people like that, because they're so enthusiastic - even after all these years, it's all about how to make the car go quicker. To work in that sort of environment, with such intelligent people, I'm hoping that some of it might rub off on me eventually!

HHF: Some big technical changes in Formula One this year, and for Red Bull Racing. Ferrari engines, 2.4l V8 - very different set of parameters for you to deal with. How's it going to be, do you think, this style of engine?

DC: Well, as you can imagine, the grip we have from the cars this year is largely the same as we had last year - there's been some small aerodynamic changes, but nothing too much. But we've lost 20% of the horsepower, so the balance between power and grip has now changed significantly.

You know, people have referred to it as being like a Formula Vee car. Well, of course it's a bit fast Formula Vee car, but we've certainly lost the ability to slide the rear of the car in medium and high-speed corner. So the driving style changes a little bit, and in theory it should make any mistake a driver would make leaving a medium or high speed corner, in theory the next car following should be able to take advantage of that and overtake more.

Whether that happens or not, we have to wait and see. But it is different to drive; I didn't feel personally that cars have too much horsepower, you know, that's part of the excitement. But we'll still be doing similar top speeds, it will just take us longer to get there.

HHF: But the pace of technology in Formula One is such that you will recoup that horsepower eventually, won't you

DC: Yeah, I'm sure one of the designers will be able to give you a sort of trace of how quickly we'll get that power back. I would imagine it's going to take a period of years, but that's what we have. You know, I ran just over 700 horsepowers - so a bit different to as we raced in previous years.

Actually, thinking back to the beginning of my career, it's probably about the same horsepower we had back in 1994. But we didn't know any different back then, so it seemed quite... but when you've going from having over 900 and then coming back again, then it doesn't feel quite so impressive when you accelerate out of the pits.

HHF: You made your debut with Williams after the tragic death of Ayrton Senna. Does that seem a long time now, that first foray into Formula One?

DC: In some instances, it does seem like a lifetime ago, to back to the days when I was a test driver and dreaming of the opportunity to race in Formula One. But in other situations it seems just like yesterday. You know, I thoroughly enjoyed my career so far in motorsport - right from karting, I got some great memories of my karting career all through the various other formulas. And I'm still getting to live my dream.

You know, I love motorsport; I'm here as a fan of the sport - obviously I get a better seat than a lot of other people - but at this age I'm able to appreciate what I have in a way that I probably didn't appreciate when I was younger. So I'm really enjoying this period of my career.

HHF: What are your opinions on the state of Formula One as a whole? There's a lot of talk about a breakaway championship and this manufacturer doing that... is Formula One in rude health?

DC: Well, all the teams are on the grid. With Minardi being bought by Red Bull, you know, the real small team has been taken away from the back of the grid, he'll have a solid investment for the future. So in theory Formula One is stronger than it has been in the past.

Manufacturers, as Mr. Mosley said in the past, will always come and go depending on how their products are doing in the public domain at that time - when Renault car sales start to drop, then they have to cut costs, and marketing is a part of that, and obviously F1 is an element of marketing. We're seeing it in WRC right now as well, so there's always going to be transitional phases.

I think when the new Concorde Agreement comes into effect, ultimately when the music stops everyone will be part of the main championship and F1 will continue as it has.

HHF: And you'll obviously hope to be part of Formula One in 2008 with those big changes

DC; Yeah, absolutely. I've got no plans of a career change. You know, I'm not planning beyond driving. But to think however many years down the line - I love motorsport, why would I want to be involved in something else? If you got passion for what you do and you got enjoyment, and it puts food on the table, then why wouldn't you want to do that?

HHF: Would you consider, in however many years, getting involved in management, or starting a team?

DC: I haven't considered it because it means thinking about it, and to think about it means to start mentally retiring. And I'm thinking about Barcelona test next week; I'm thinking about Bahrain, going racing; I think about Monte Carlo, because it's a great challenge - and I get to stay home, so I don't have to pay for a hotel.

You know, I'm just enthusiastic about the year ahead, and I'll worry about what my future holds beyond driving when I'm facing that situation. I don't think Alonso or Raikkonen or these guys are thinking about what they're going to do after F1. And I think I have to be of the same mindset.

HHF: We saw great battles between Kimi and Fernando in 2005. They are the coming men, aren't they?

DC: Do they come a lot?

HHF: Allegedly...

DC: I think I can still hold my own in that department

HHF: OK, mate...

DC: Here's a family show, so hopefully the ... I'm actually going red now, I'm embarrassed by that! Shit! Oh, sorry, I mean... excuse me...

HHF: Stop it!

DC: I am red!

HHF: Right... We're going to have questions from the crowd, but do try and keep them clean...

(From the floor): What's the latest on some Scottish drivers coming through? I mean, there's been yourself and Allan [McNish] in the last few years. But there doesn't seem to be anything coming through. Do you know of anyone coming through?

DC: To be fairly honest, I don't know. If I was as patriotic and as enthusiastic about the future of the sport as I'd like to think I am, I should know. But not just limited to Scotland. I don't actually know so much about the younger guys all over the UK coming through.

I know how difficult it is to come through - I was very fortunate that my father and the family business was able to support me right to the highest level. Without that, it would have been very difficult to get anywhere close to Formula One. So I think we all know just how difficult it is to get the finance.

Obviously, Dario Franchitti took the decision to go to America, and he's settled there I guess - he's married and what have you. I don't know, you know.

I guess that's something that beyond driving I would be involved in trying to help, because every generation should help the following generation, and you see that with a lot of the retired drivers get involved in trying to help younger drivers get into the sport. But I don't know, is the truthful answer.

(From the floor): David, after doing so many years at McLaren, why did you find it necessary to leave when you did?

DC: I was sacked! You don't really get much choice!

HHF: Formula One driver in honesty shock...

DC: You know, my performance at the time was not so good with the one-lap qualifying, and McLaren saw an opportunity with Montoya, and they signed him a year ahead of the time. So... nine years, you know, that's a long time - that's longer than any of my relationships have ever lasted!

HHF: It's a long time to wear grey clothes

DC: It is, yeah. So now I'm just growing grey in the beard. But it was a happy period of my racing career, I have a lot of friends there, and I enjoyed the challenge as I am now at Red Bull Racing.

(From the floor): How old are you?

HHF: That's a classic!

DC: Unfortunately I made the mistake of not lying when I started, so I have to continue the truth now; I'm 34 and three quarters. I'll be 35 in March.

HHF: How old did you think he was?

(From the floor): 50...

DC laughs

HHF: 50! Man, you need to shave...

(From the floor): I was at Monaco when you won. Was it as good for you, beating the Ferraris, as it was for me watching it?

DC: The Monaco victories - you know, the first one I had was somewhat fortunate, because Michael was leading and then he had a problem. The second one I think was a lights to flag victory. You know, the two biggest emotions of my career were in Monaco.

Winning there is just a fantastic feeling, because irrespective of what everyone else thinks of you, you don't luck into a Monaco win very often, and to do it twice - you must have done something right.

To take pole position there - OK, you need a good car, a good team, all that sort of thing, but nonetheless I had a good teammate at that time in Mika [Hakkinen]. And that was a good feeling - followed by a complete disaster, because the electronics failed and I had to start at the back. Spend 40-odd laps behind [Enrique] Bernoldi.

(From the floor): With the engine capacity being smaller in size and using less fuel, is it possible that some teams will run a full race, in Monaco or Hungary, on one tank of fuel?

DC: That's a very interesting question, it's one that I haven't asked the team, so I haven't really done my homework, I guess. But the reality of the qualifying regulations this year, if you don't qualify in the last ten shootout, you can refuel on the grid.

So somewhere like Monaco, there can be a big advantage in being 11th rather than being anywhere up to maybe 4th or 3rd on the grid, because if you can run the full tank and run long then there's no question at that type of track it can give you a big advantage.

We have a reasonable size of fuel cell - bigger than some, we believe, and maybe smaller than a couple, but... yeah, the regulations as they are will mean that strategy will, as always, play its part, and with the split qualifying I think you can expect to see more changes during the race to the actual running position, whereas in the past it was pretty much if you were off in grid order, you stayed in grid order, unless you pitted a lap later.

(From the floor): I watched the development of Cosworth all this year. Do you think you're making a big mistake with Red Bull moving to Ferrari?

DC: You know the answer to that, don't you? It's like... Cosworth are a great company, I worked with them in the past in the lower formulas, and they did a fantastic job this year - I had only one engine failure, in Spa. The history shows what that company has been able to achieve and will continue to achieve.

But Red Bull took the decision to go with Ferrari because the belief is they will find the funds to continually develop the engine during the course of the season, whereas as a customer of Cosworth... You know, they're running a business so they can't just open their cheque book and keep spending money. I guess Red Bull could have invested more in Cosworth, but that's the decision that was taken, and time will tell whether it's a good one or not.

But I don't think anyone could, based on the history of the last six or seven years in F1, say that Ferrari are a bad decision, because they've had one of the most reliable engine/car packages, which has given Michael [Schumacher] all the success that he's had. So in the face of it, it's a bit like signing Adrian Newey - I fail to see how anyone could say that that is a bad decision, because for more than a decade he has been involved in the most successful cars in Formula One. So if you just align yourself with all of the best bits of what's available, then that would seem like a logical decision, rather than trying to build it all up from nothing, which could take years and years to do.

(From the floor): David, in the Monaco Grand Prix practice 4, do you think Montoya should have been penalised more?

HHF: That is good...

DC: Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah, well... again, you probably know the answer. For me, I think he should have been sent back to Colombia.

HHF: In a box.

DC: No, what he did there is totally out of order. And then he tried say to the stewards that he didn't lift and he didn't do all the things that he did. But there's data; there's telemetry that shows what you did. So you've got to be able to hold your hand up and admit when you make a mistake. So a good lesson for you, OK? Don't be shy to admit your mistakes, because it will serve you, I think, in the future. Try not to make any [mistakes], but when you don't deny them, because you're going to get found out. And he got found out, and his penalty was to go to the back.

HHF: 2005 was a very successful year for you. There is the new Ferrari engine for 2006 and you've got Adrian Newey, it is looking good, isn't it?

DC: There has obviously been a quite aggressive recruitment programme going on over the last year. As well as Adrian leading the design and technical staff there are a number of other people who have come from all of the teams, including Ferrari, Renault, McLaren, BAR and Toyota.

We have tried to bring together as strong a group of people as possible, so now the challenge is to get them to work together and try and develop the car and use their talents. Inevitably there will be some growing pains in that process, but we are hopeful we can consolidate what we did last season which was get close to a podium and score points in a number of Grands Prix. The goal clearly is to move froward.

HHF: Surely a young team like Red Bull must benefit from the amount of experience that you can bring...

DC: I think that everyone is aware of the thing. There is no substitute for experience. It doesn't necessarily make you any quicker but it can help fast track the direction of the test programme. The feeling I have had over the years, I was test driver for two years before I started racing in F1, is that it was a good grounding to try and understand how to develop the car and work out the quickest way to make use of the resources that the team have.

Clearly that paid dividends in 2005, and we have got continuity on the driver front with Christian and I racing together. He grew a lot during the last season. To go straight from F3 to Jaguar was not easy, I would not have wanted to go straight from F3 to Williams, but there is always a rush with young drivers but if people are patient then the cream will rise to the top.

Give them the chance to develop properly, and that is what the acquisition of Minardi is for. It is for younger drivers to have the opportunity to learn their trade and if they are good enough they will have an opportunity with a main team.

HHF: Christian Horner is the youngest team boss in F1, but he seems to have found his feet very quickly.

DC: Absolutely. Again, it is the age aspect. If you are good enough you are old enough. Christian has experience of driving, he raced all the way up to F3000 and he has experience of running a very successful F3000 team, which is now a GP2 team.

Yes he had not worked previously in that role in F1 but he had a solid grounding in terms of what it takes to succeed. His team was and remains one of the premier teams in the last step before F1, so it was a logical progression for him to move to F1.

I have enjoyed working with him. He understands the driving aspect and the business aspect and given time we will see the results of all the work that he has put in. He is putting in incredible hours at the moment and over the coming year I believe that will pay off.

HHF: Will he have much to do with Scuderia Toro Rosso, or will that run completely independently?

DC: Inevitably he will have knowledge of what the structure is there and there will be certain inputs from the main team when we cross over on technology, but his aim is to make Red Bull Racing a winning F1 team in the future.

(From the floor): Who do you think will be the next British champion, as we have not had one since Damon Hill in 1996. There is Jenson Button and Gary Paffett, but who do you think could be next?

DC: I have said before that drivers are supposed to have balls but none of them are crystal. I cannot tell you what the future holds. Jenson is more than capable of winning if he has a winning package. Gary has proven to be an exceptional talent, having won the DTM and done a good job for McLaren and clearly he has the pace. He is a hard working individual and I would be very happy if he had success in F1 in the future.

There will always be someone coming through and we just have to be patient. There are a lot of nationalities and a lot of drivers trying to get the 20 places on the grid, or 22 if this Aguri team comes off. It is tough but the most important thing is that British drivers are represented there and at the right moment when someone comes along you will have your next champion.

(From the floor): David, with all the years you spent working for Mercedes-Benz and with Norbert Haug did you pick up any German?

DC: Ja... Not really, to be honest. All the usual things. I can swear in several languages and I can order beer in several languages, but that's about it.