Happy Birthday David Coulthard! We look at his F1 career...
Picture via Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Williams. McLaren. Red Bull. He’s driven for some top teams.
Hill. Hakkinen. Raikkonen. He’s had some incredible team mates.
13 Grands Prix wins. More than champions such as Andretti, Villeneuve and Hunt.
So why is DC not considered a heavyweight of Formula One?
Perhaps it is because he spent most of his career as a number two driver.
He made his Formula One debut for Williams in 1994, as a replacement for Ayrton Senna after his tragic death.
Coulthard scored his first podium for the team in Portugal that year but was replaced by Nigel Mansell for the end of the season.
He was retained by Williams for 1995 and took his first win in the sport, also in Portugal.
For 1996 he was signed by McLaren, starting a nine-season affiliation with the team.
This was the most successful period of his career, as he won 12 Grands Prix in 150 race starts for the team.
His best season was in 2001, when he finished second in the championship to the dominant Michael Schumacher.
Later in his career, he raced for the up and coming Red Bull team, and is known for helping the team grow into the beast it became in 2010 onwards.
Coulthard had a magnificent career in Formula One, but he will always be remembered as the driver that played second fiddle throughout almost his entire career.
But this should not take the shine off the man who was a terrific driver and untouchable on his day.