David Coulthard

Two old F1 hands came up with their ideas to improve the F1 spectacle. Following the series of flash fires during the Hungarian GP David Coulthard believes refuelling ban is the way to go for F1. Not only the risk of fire during the pit stops would be largely eliminated but the refuelling ban in his opinion should also improve the racing (in his ITV column):

“From my point of view a bigger drawback of refuelling is that it detracts from the racing by turning the grand prix into a series of low-fuel sprints between pit stops. In the days (pre-1994) when you carried your entire race fuel load on board the car, there was a much bigger role for the driver in managing the tyres and brakes. These days, in dry conditions, you very rarely see anyone win from further back than the second row of the grid, because race pace largely mirrors qualifying pace - which is not surprising when the conditions are so similar.”

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

To make it even more difficult to keep the engine statistics up-to-date Red Bull team has decided to keep David Coulthard on the same Renault engine for the third race in a row in Hungary this weekend. Well on paper it is third race in a row but his British GP barely lasted a lap . Here are the reasons behind the unusual decision - Fabrice Lom, Renault, in charge of Red Bull engine supply:

“This is the first time we have taken this decision. First of all his V8 has not done too much running. Plus, having our two drivers out of synch on the engine cycle means that we won’t be putting all our eggs in the same basket. This decision will also help us in the second half of the season in terms of the logistical challenge. And finally, it means that David will not have to use the same engine in Spa and Monza, which are two of the toughest challenges on the calendar.”

In the early days of two race rule there were worries the teams may choose deliberately not to finish the race to be able to run with fresh engine in next one. It actually happened in 2005 when BAR retired both cars (Button and Sato) on the final lap of Australian GP and again in Australia in 2006 when Button stopped his smoking car meters from the finish line. Now we have a team choosing to use the same engine for third time .

Photo: Red Bull/GEPA

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Sebastian Vettel will race for Red Bull racing from 2009 season alongside Mark Webber. The announcement was made today, ahead of Vettel’s home Grand Prix. This is what Christian Horner had to say:

“We are delighted that Sebastian will be joining us next year. With David Coulthard announcing his retirement as a Formula One driver a fortnight ago at the British Grand Prix, after careful consideration, it seemed natural to announce his replacement here at Sebastian’s home race in Hockenheim. As he was already part of the Red Bull family, choosing Sebastian as Mark Webber’s team-mate was not a difficult decision. However, we have always stated that our aim is to have the strongest available driver line-up and Vettel’s selection also matches these criteria.”

And here is a video of the big happy Red Bull family having fun - it involves jumping motorbike, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, David Coulthard, Franz Tost, few other faces and Hockenheim.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

If you have problems playing the video here you can see it also on Facebook and F1Wolf Club

These Red Bull guys keep coming up with interesting promo stunts…

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

This is the first 2009 drivers posts that does not have rumours only. One 2009 F1 seat was confirmed last week - Mark Webber’s contract with Red Bull was extended for another year. He will however have new team mate following David Coulthard’s retirement announcement. Sebastian Vettel is everybody’s candidate …

There are reports that Toyota will confirm their current drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock for next season. It hasn’t happened yet though. This would mean that Kazuki Nakajima may stay with Williams for a while longer.

Same as last year a lot seems to depend on the next move by Fernando Alonso. He is not planning to make any announcements before Italian Grand Prix in September and some teams may wait for his situation to clear up before making any moves.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Interesting place to conduct an interview

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

First of the 2009 driver rumours has been officially confirmed by the subject of the rumour himself. As suggested earlier this week, David Coulthard announced today his decision to retire from Formula 1 racing at the end of 2008 F1 season.

“I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula One at the end of this season. I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing focusing on testing and development of the cars. I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future, in some other form of motorsport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet.

The decision to make this announcement at the British GP should be an obvious one for all to understand, as I have achieved two of my thirteen F1 victories at Silverstone and I am a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which hosts this event.

I am proud of my work at Red Bull Racing and will continue to race with the same focus until the last lap in Brazil. Thereafter I will continue to help the team develop and move towards their ultimate goal of winning races.”

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Rumour described as “strong” suggests that David Coulthard may announce his retirement from F1 during the upcoming British GP that may be his last home Formula 1 race. No one suggests that this would be his last race however. He made recently several remarks that would not any “retirement” annoucement from Coulthard shocking, including his speach after Canadian podium. It would also make some sense out of Vettel’s claim that he knows a little bit of the internal situation and is very confident about his future. I would however also not be suprised if we hear Coulthard coming out soon rubbishing all the retirement talks.

Last year Red Bull ran a special Faces for Charity livery at Silverstone, in 2005 again Red Bull had The Force with them and special Star Wars livery on their cars. This year we are about the see the Batmobile and special Batman livery on - suprise surprise - the usually most boring team with most boring livery - Toyota … Can’t wait to see that one .

Kimi Raikkonen will very likely make use of one penalty free unscheduled engine change ahead of 2008 British GP following the troubles he faced for half of the Magny Cours race 2 weekends back.

And Toro Rosso have been promised stability for 2009 by Dietrich Mateschitz, they should only expect uncertainty from 2010 onwards …

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Before the season resumes in Spain in about 3 weeks time I want to look at how the 2008 rookies and the F1 veterans have been doing so far this season.

Rookie no 1 - Nelson Piquet Jr.

Many people say that Piquet has yet to prove he deserves a seat in F1. Well, he did not show much in F1 so far, but to be fair to him he did not have much chance yet …

The season did not start very well for him. The Melbourne opener was just a disaster. While Alonso scored points, Piquet had difficulties to keep the car on the track. It would not however be fair to compare his performances with those of Fernando Alonso … Yes, Hamilton was also a rookie last year and managed to regularly beat Alonso from the beginning of the season. But the big difference was, the 2007 McLaren was a good car. Renault 2008 car seems to be a real dog so far. Even Alonso himself considers the R28 to be only 8th best on the grid at the moment.

One can understand that Alonso with his experience can get more out of the bad car than a F1 rookie. Piquet hasn’t set F1 on fire yet but when comparing his times to Alonso’s during Bahrain practice sessions it is quite clear that his pace is not that bad. What he is lacking is the F1 racing experience and that is situation similar to Heikki Kovalainen in 2007. The attitude of Renault towards him seems to be very different then their attitude towards Heikki last year. Piquet Jr has full suport from the team (at least it looks that way). Pat Symonds even goes as far as saying “he has had a damn good start“. Hmm… I can understand if he argues that it “is nothing to be ashamed of” if Alonso outqualifies him. But rating his F1 start as “damn good” is bit too much. Sounds like words Piquet’s sponsors would like to hear … I would say that so far he hasn’t been disapointing but he did not impress either. Let’s see what next few races will bring.

Veteran no 1 - David Coulthard

David Coulthard is one of the most experienced drivers in Formula 1 history. As of today (after 2008 Bahrain GP) he has 231 race starts to his name (source Forix). Only Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Riccardo Patrese are above him in this table. But when wacthing and listening to him this season sometimes it looks like he is the rookie …

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

The eBay auction of David Coulthard’s RB3 with the ‘Faces for Charity’ livery used at Silversone 2007 has been announced quite a while ago. The online auction was held by Red Bull on Sunday night.

It does not happen that often that barely a year old F1 car is auctioned on eBay. There were bids and the lucky winner has bought himself a neat piece of F1 memorabilia for 210,050 Euro. It did not come cheap but it is money spent for a good cause. The proceeds are to go to the Wings for Life charity that funds research into spinal injuries. The identity of the new owner has not been made public, yet. I can exclusively reveal that it is not me .

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Red Bull is a team with probably the most experienced drivers line up on the grid (compare Red Bull with McLaren for example…). Here is the quick look at the Red Bull team mates, David Coulthad and Mark Webber.

David Coulthard - Great Britain (Scotland)
Born: 27 March 1971
In F1 since 1994, 1994 - 1995 - Williams, 1996 - 2004 McLaren, 2005 - 2008 Red Bull
Best Result: 2nd in 2001
Career wins: 13
Pole positions: 12
Podium Finishes: 61

DC is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid and an important part of the Red Bull team and not only as a driver. He managed to collect 52 points in the three season with Red Bull. This year with what finally looks like a competitive Red Bull car he should be able to score more, in theory. What may play against him is not so sharp qualifying. And with another 4 teams on similar performance level with Red Bull the qualifying results will be crucial for good race result. It will be big difference between starting as a midfield frontman from 6th or 7th and as a midfield backmarker down at 15th …

Mark Webber - Australia
Born: 27 August 1976
In F1 since 2002 with Minardi, 2003 - 2004 Jaguar, 2005 Williams, 2006 - 2008 Red Bull
Best Result: 10th in 2003, 2005
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium Finishes: 2

Mark Webber is still waiting for his maiden Formula 1 win. He had a shot at it last year in Japan, until Sebastian Vettel took him out. Red Bull still does not look like race winning car, but it looks like this year their car may actually be reliable. The very strong midfield and Webber’s usual strong qualifying performance (he outqualified Coulthard 15 times in 2007) may result in some podiums for him. Race win is not impossible, but to achieve that, he would need lots of luck on his side.

F1Wolf’s prediction for Red Bull drivers in 2008:
Their final point tally may be quite similar, but I see Webber with better chances to get to the podium this season. Coulthard hopefuly will not decapitate anybody this year.

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - McLaren
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - BMW Sauber
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Renault
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Williams

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here