Bob Jennings

The working title for this piece over the past several weeks was "Got a feeling." This was to be a commentary on why I thought 2002 was the year when David Coulthard became the Formula One World Champion racing driver. However as is often the case with this website, I ran out of time and didn't complete it before the season opening Grand Prix of Australia. Considering what I saw when I watched Speed Channel's coverage from Melbourne and more recently in Malaysia, I'm glad I didn't complete "Got a feeling" in time. Otherwise I would be feeling pretty stupid now.

I no longer "got a feeling" about David Coulthard winning the 2002 World Championship. I don't believe anyone is going to win the championship in 2002 but the guy who deserves it most - Michael Schumacher. Forget it fellow Coulthard fans. Michael Schumacher is just too damn good and I'm not sure DC (or anyone else) is good enough to beat him at the moment. 

David Coulthard is my favorite among the current group of Formula One drivers. I'm not exactly sure why that is, although I suspect it has more to do with Coulthard's Scottish heritage than anything else ala two of my all time heroes Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart. That's not to say David isn't an exciting competitor because he's among the best in the world at the moment. It was Coulthard being a Scot that drew my attention however.  

I remember when David Coulthard made his F1 debut at Catalunya on May 29, 1994 in the Grand Prix of Spain. I caught a glimpse of the F1 race in Spain when I met Guy Nadeau, Tim Pendergast and their sons at the Pendergast home for the trip to the 1994 "Indianapolis 500." I was preoccupied with Nigel Mansell's bid to win the "500" on that day, but I was still interested in what Coulthard was doing at Catalunya.    

It was an unenviable way for an aspiring racer to make his Formula One debut, substituting for Ayrton Senna on the Williams team 28 days after the legendary Brazilian was killed at Imola, but Coulthard handled the pressure of replacing Senna admirably.

Prior to his introduction to F1, the most significant accomplishment of Coulthard's career had been a season high five wins in the prestigious 1991 British Formula Three series. By the time of his seventh and final appearance of the 1994 Formula One season, David battled Williams - Renault teammate Damon Hill for victory in the Grand Prix of Portugal, finishing second on team orders.

Coulthard looked good, wearing the blue and white Scottish Cross flag on his helmet, driving the white and dark blue Rothmans Williams FW16B and I was excited about his prospects. When it became time for Nigel Mansell to replace him for the three final races of the 1994 season, I was almost sorry because Coulthard looked like he was coming on strong and an F1 victory was close.

Nigel Mansell won his 31st career Formula One race in the 1994 season finale at Adelaide and "the Lion" was likely the most famous racing personality in the world at the time. However Frank Williams and Patrick Head were so impressed with Coulthard, they chose David over Mansell for the 1995 season. Of course Nigel's mega-million dollar salary demands versus Coulthard's relatively modest requirements might've played a part in David's selection. Nevertheless it was still a notable decision. 

Although Coulthard looked set to win throughout 1995, victory didn't come until the Grand Prix of Portugal on September 25, 1995 at Estoril. It was David's 21st career start. By that time he'd scored four second place finishes and many observers felt victory was overdue. Halfway through 1995 however, Williams decided to replace Coulthard with "Indianapolis 500" winner Jacques Villeneuve for 1996. David's excellent win at Estoril didn't change that decision.

Ron Dennis was an early admirer of Coulthard's talent. Dennis gave David a test in a Marlboro McLaren - Honda in 1990. Coulthard signed a letter of intent near the end of the 1994 season to drive for McLaren in 1995. When Williams chose David over Nigel Mansell for 1995, McLaren brought suit. The matter was settled by arbitration in favor of the Williams team. After Coulthard was released by Williams, Ron Dennis was waiting for David with a seat in one of the McLarens. 

Coulthard's first season with McLaren was mediocre but so was the MP4/11 - Mercedes David was given to race. The best result was a second in Monaco and seventh in the season ending points. In contrast, Mika Hakkinen finished fifth in the points in the other Marlboro McLaren - Mercedes, with four third place finishes highlighting the Finn's season.  

By 1997 the once dominant McLaren team had gone three seasons without a Formula One victory after Ayrton Senna won the 1993 season finale at Adelaide. However things were on an upswing at McLaren for 1997. There was a new Mercedes Benz V10 engine built by Ilmor to power the new, improved McLaren MP4/12 chassis. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari stole Marlboro sponsorship from McLaren and the traditional white and day-glow red color scheme was replaced with Mercedes Benz silver and black. So there was a new look to go with the new cars at McLaren.

His second Formula One victory in Melbourne on March 9 to open the 1997 season is perhaps the Coulthard win I remember most. I didn't expect it but it was a nice surprise. I was still living in Chicago at the time when I came to Indianapolis to visit my mom and arrived on Saturday night in time for the ESPN2 telecast of the Grand Prix of Australia. David drove a masterful race and his new McLaren looked impressive.

It's interesting to compare the relative situations of the two McLaren drivers, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, at the start of the 1997 season. Hakkinen was in his sixth season of F1 in 1997, but he had yet to score his first F1 win. After two seasons with a moribund Team Lotus, Hakkinen moved to McLaren in 1993 as the third driver behind Ayrton Senna and Michael Andretti. When Andretti was unceremoniously sent packing back to the USA and the CART series, Mika took the second seat in one of the Marlboro McLaren - Fords. Hakkinen survived Nigel Mansell's two race tenure with McLaren in 1995 and an unhappy time with Peugeot power, when David Coulthard arrived in 1996. 

On September 7, Coulthard scored his second win of the 1997 season and the third F1 victory of his career at Monza. At that point, David appeared to be on his way to assuming the primary role in leading the McLaren team back to F1 supremacy, following in the footsteps of former McLaren greats Denis Hulme, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Not only were McLaren's hopes riding with David Coulthard, but responsibility for the re-emergence of Mercedes Benz in Formula One appeared to be placed primarily on the Scot's shoulders.

Then came the 1997 season finale at the Jerez circuit which proved to be one of the pivotal races in David  Coulthard's career. Near the end of the race Coulthard was leading Hakkinen when he got the order from Ron Dennis to allow Mika by. David was obedient and it brought Hakkinen his first career Formula One victory. In my opinion this was the end of Coulthard's rise. The win energized the Finn and moved Hakkinen into the lead role on the McLaren team. 

The trend from Coulthard to Hakkinen was punctuated the following March in the 1998 season opener in Melbourne. Mika qualified on pole for the Grand Prix of Australia, sharing the front row of the grid with David. Prior to the start of the race, it was decided that whichever McLaren driver led to the first corner would be the first one to the checkered flag should such a situation develop and that's exactly what happened. Hakkinen beat Coulthard off the line at the start of the race and even though David was faster in the race and was leading at the end, he was obliged to let Mika pass for another win.

The win in Melbourne motivated Hakkinen, setting him on fire like a man possessed and leaving Coulthard in his dust. The rest of the Hakkinen - Coulthard teaming is history. After the season opening victory in Melbourne, Mika went on to claim a total of eight wins, nine poles, 100 championship points and the 1998 World title. In contrast, David scored one win, three poles and 56 points for third place in the championship standings.

There was more parity between Hakkinen and Coulthard in 1999 but just barely. David had two wins, no poles and 48 points to finish fourth in the championship. But Mika took his second championship with five victories, eleven pole positions and 76 points. 

Michael Schumacher finally brought the World Championship back to Ferrari in the 2000 season (for the first time since Jody Scheckter's title in 1979) with nine wins, nine poles and 108 points. Coulthard and Hakkinen were closer in 2000 than they'd been since their first season as teammates in 1996, when McLaren went winless. David won three races, two poles and earned 73 points for third place in the championship standings. Mika finished second to Schumacher in the points with four victories, five poles and 89 points.    

There were moments during the 2000 season when Coulthard looked to be on his way. His victory at Silverstone in April brought an end to Michael Schumacher's three race winning streak. David followed with wins in Monaco and France. At the same time, Hakkinen appeared to be losing some of his competitive fire. But Mika still remained the main threat to Schumacher and Ferrari.

Last season Coulthard finished second in the World Championship to Schumacher, although he trailed the German by 58 points, 123 to 65 at season's end. Hakkinen was restless and his mind was on other things besides racing for most of the season. However even with the distractions, Mika's two victories equaled David's win total.

My conclusion is that Coulthard was no match for Hakkinen when the Finnish driver was in a determined state. It's a shame because in 1998 and 1999 when Mika won his championships McLaren had it all. Adrian Newey designed the best race car chassis in the world for Hakkinen and Coulthard to drive and the Mercedes Benz V10 engine from Ilmor was the fastest source of power in F1. Given a correct set of circumstances, I believe David could yet put together a World title. When Hakkinen announced last season that he was taking a sabbatical from racing in 2002, it appeared as if Coulthard had his best chance at the championship.

After a successful period of pre-season testing, the first two events of the new season have been an absolute disaster for David Coulthard and McLaren. The Scot lined up fourth and eighth in Australia and Malaysia respectively. In the most recent event, Coulthard was out-qualified on the grid by his young teammate Kimi Raikkonen. David has yet to score a single championship point, falling out of both races. In Melbourne, Coulthard experienced gearbox problems and kept sliding off the circuit. At Sepang the Mercedes Benz V10 engine blew up.  

This has left Coulthard in a state of depression and doubt. Coulthard is quoted in an article appearing on the F1i.com website dated March 19, as saying "It's difficult to pretend what's happened in the opening races doesn't hurt, because it does." "I started the year with my sights set on winning races and challenging for the championship. It may have seemed a high goal but when everything is working for you, it's easy to achieve.

"But the way things have gone so far is not good for the championship - and Williams being so strong adds to the difficulty. The championship is already an outside chance because I have to win the next two races to be in with a shout."  

Coulthard's comments indicate he doesn't have confidence about wining the World Championship this season. The Scot sounds discouraged, almost middle age, even though he is still four days from his 31st birthday. 

I wonder what it is exactly that David Coulthard lacks to become champion. He's fast and can put together a winning performance with near surgical precision. I'm glad Sam Posey is gone from the Formula One coverage on Speed Channel this season because he's inane and talks too much, but there were a few times when I enjoyed Posey's lyrical observations. During those times when Coulthard was really on it, like when he'd outrace Michael Schumacher into a corner, Posey would usually ask the question whether a new David Coulthard was coming forward. 

The Coulthard package isn't complete. It's like David doesn't have a large enough supply of aggression. He has the speed and car control but he can't seem to muster up the killer instinct on a continual basis. Some days Coulthard looks near perfect but other days he's operating just a few degrees above  mediocrity. Maybe I'm overstating things but I think you get the idea. Add to that the fact he's competing against the all time Formula One race winner and surely one of the very best to come along in Michael Schumacher.

I hope it works out eventually for David Coulthard. Lesser talents have become World Champion. However the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't seem to be getting any closer and it raises questions about Coulthard's overall qualifications and future opportunities beyond 2002.         

David Coulthard's career Formula One record