He may have retired, but for F1 champion David Coulthard, it's still life in the fast lane. He talks to Sunday MiD DAY about stepping into Ayrton Senna's shoes and why Michael Schumacher is a better racer than him
He may have retired, but for F1 champion David Coulthard, it's still life in the fast lane. He talks to Sunday MiD DAY about stepping into Ayrton Senna's shoes and why Michael Schumacher is a better racer than him
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UNEXPECTEDLY for a retired F1 racer, life for David Coulthard is busier than ever. He barely has time for his almost one-year old son Dayton, though he plans to change that next year.
As if to prove the congestion in his schedule, was his itinerary in India during his trip last week. He was constantly on the move, busy signing autographs, giving interviews, testing his car, spinning on the sea link and doing other promotional activities. He even made a half-day trip to Delhi.
The result was a sore throat, forcing Coulthard to carry around a bottle of cough syrup. "Too much a/c, too much of moving in and out of heat," he told Sunday MiD DAY, checking the bottle with an unheard of label.
With a thin greying stubble, dressed in a casual T-shirt, Coulthard smiled easily but the exhaustion was apparent. He said he had enjoyed his trip to Mumbai but was in the sort of position visitors find themselves in any new place: Eager not to miss anything, and driven to fatigue by it.
"I had heard stories of poverty before coming here but honestly, it's not shocking. You see disparity between those who have and those who don't everywhere. But people are friendly and everyone seems to be going about making their living," said the 38-year-old, who is now also a BBC commentator.
A day before the event, as he tucked appreciatively into some chicken tikka, paneer and rice at the Lotus Cafu00c3u00a9 in JW Marriott, he insisted he was no foreigner to Indian food. At one of his homes in Chelsea, England, where he always orders chicken kurma from an Indian takeaway, the restaurant proudly mentions in the menu: "recommended by David Coulthard".
His trip to Mumbai was courtesy Red Bull, for whom he is a consultant. His mission was to drive on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, to give the city a taste of the sport. He was told not to exceed 100 km an hour and he said he did not want to, lest he "takes off" and is asked to "pay aviation charges". But Coulthard just could not resist: He did 265 km, which led the authorities to announce their disapproval.
But then, maybe it was the thrill of driving in Mumbai, which amazed him. "What I see is interesting: organised chaos that seems to work. It's the constant unnecessary honking that annoys me. I am surprised there are not that many crashes though." Not surprisingly, he does not like driving in cities; surprisingly, back home, he drives the practical Smart Car not a speedy sports vehicle.
Coulthard retired last year with over 200 Grand Prix appearances, 13 podium finishes but no championship titles. He has no regrets because he is happy "finishing second to (Michael) Schumacher, who is the most successful driver in the history of sport. In comparison, I was good but not good enough."
"I wasn't consistent enough. It comes down to talent and maybe I did not have enough." He added about Schumacher: "I have spent time with him in different ways than when we were racing. Now there is no competition; the history books have been written: he was a better driver than me."
Coulthard's career started under dramatically tragic circumstances, when at 23, he replaced the deceased Ayrton Senna for Williams at the Grand Prix in Barcelona. "When you are in your early 20s, life is an opportunity. Only when you gain responsibility, as you get older, you become more conscious to how risky things are. I was sad but it was my opportunity. If it happened today, I would have been shocked and surprised. The benefit of youth is you don't have the same conscience as an adult," he said.
Fifteen years later, Coulthard is clearly not done with the sport. "I have retired from F1 not from racing. I am in love with it. I was a fan for 23 years but raced for only 15. I feel I am young enough to race somewhere," he sniffled.
It was therefore not surprising that his gentle Sunday jaunt turned out to be a racy blur. You could not have let loose a Formula One racer on an empty bridge and expected him to merely enjoy the view.u00a0
F1 career Statistics: David Coulthard, 1994-2008
Number of GPs: 247
Victories: 13
Podiums: 62
Career points: 535
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