[lipitrRrxX]

DC was in my earliest memories of F1 as a kid, sprinting around in the Black and grey West McLaren whilst flicking through Japanese GP coverage on Channel 9 here in oz, so I though it was appropriate to make a thread for his last GP.

Obviously 2008 has been a disappointment for DC. His claims of "this will be my year" are part of F1 folklore, as is his imfamous adelaide pitlane accident. Barring these incidents, DC was, on his day, pretty damn fast as his 13 GP wins would suggest.
I've compiled this youtube list of races he won. If you have anything else such as videos of the other 6 wins or pictures to add, please do so.

Britain 1999 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dfZlqwg5g3o
Belgium 1999 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CiZlzOsUKs8
Monaco 2000 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_G4vKWfAJZs
France 2000 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dWP2HTk7qGg
Brazil 2001 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=bOU6hohWQlM
Austria 2001 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=l47BMoL1IUQ
Australia 2003 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKsTzx8R8s


Ah, that lineup takes me back.

[AffipgyncDync]

I wish Coulthard had retired a year ago.

DC's ram-rod ways have almost diminished his past accomplishments.

[Ruiceara]

His first race win was at Estoril in '95. The only footage I found of that on Youtube was a Japanese commentator blowing his gaskets.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=i72SExnu4jE

[wrewsTear]

Well he has a been a good driver over the years who will leave without having won a title while driving for a top team for so many years.

Good luck to him.
Its one accident less per race from now on.

[slima]

Good luck DC. Never a favorite of mine but a fine driver anyway.

[VUzgOhgv]

DC drove for two of the best teams or their respective eras in F1, but that doesn't change the fact that you don't win 13 races by accident.

That said, I still regard his career as somewhat disappointing: I can't shake the feeling that he should have achieved more given the cars at his disposal.

Red Bull gave him a new lease of life, any thoughts that he would be there for a single season before collecting his pension were ill-founded as he brought invaluable experience to the team and showed that he could still, on his day, mix it with the young guns.

As gloomyDAY mentions, it's a shame he didn't bow out at the end of last year on a high, instead of becoming the accident magnet we've seen too often this season.

Anyway, a thoroughly decent bloke by all accounts, and as he says himself "I’m entirely comfortable being in the category of has-been because the other options are to be a wannabe or a never-has-been."

[TimoDass]

He really was a good driver, still he had so many bonehead move it's incredible.
His years with RBR, especially the first one, impressed me more than his previous career.

[Stetbrate]

A great ambassador for the sport and I for one will miss him. I wish him the best of luck for the future.

[Karensmith]

A gifted individual, and class act.
One thing he did on a regular basis:
Let people know where thay stood with him!
Ciao

[Faigokilix]

A very nice driver and a very good one. I will miss him, but it is time to say goodbye.

[PebydataFeents]

Interestingly two teams have kept him one year too much. Besides Red Bull anno 2008 I really didn't get it, why did he get a contract extension with McLaren for 2004 after a disappointing 2003. But this is the characteristic of DC - obviously his off-track or testing deeds have been more valuable than racing at GP's, which is why he has had the opportunity to drive for so competitive teams. Obviously he should be satisfied with his career and if he isn't, there isn't really anyone else to blame - he has got the chances and plenty of them during his career to show himself.

From the positive side it can be said that in the early phases of his career he seemed seriously quick and in 1995 for Williams collected 4 (?) poles in a row. If nowadays we say that DC's weakness is qualifying, then back then it was actually his strength. I think up and including 2002 he was equally good both in Q and in the race and often even stronger in quali. However, since 2003 - with the introduction of new Q-rules - he has turned into below-average (by F1 standards) driver IMO. Maybe with the exception of 2005, when he - like also maybe Räikkönen and Heidfeld - benefitted from the single tyre rule, which reduced the importance of qualifying and enabled DC to achieve good points with consistent driving.

[Inonanialry]

I'll miss him in the sport.
He had the car and on his day he was capable of a WDC, I think on occasion he just wasn't aggressive enough. There was times he would frustrate me by not taking passing opportunities that MS would have

This last year has been painful, but Magny-Cours 2000 where gave MS the middle finger whilst being pushed wide makes up for a lot.

He has been my favorite (for obvious reasons) from his first race to his last.

[AffipgyncDync]

I want to get away, I want to fly away.....

[usacomm]

A gifted individual, and class act.

Well said DC may not have won a championship himself, but he contributed a great deal to championship winning teams, and won himself a few races along the way. That's more than most drivers who reach F1 can say.

[wllsqyuipknczx]

eh,

DC was a driver who pretty much had the opportunity to drive some of the best cars in F1 alongside WDC winners and never really maximized his potential.
A decent driver, probably a decent chap off the track, but coasted to and end of his racing career and was known more for has incidents and comments than any thing he did on track these past few years.

That superman moment really came courtesy of his teammate who was ahead of him the entire race before his car gave up on him, clearing the way for DC to podium.

In looking back at his career, i can't recall one defining moment of brilliance on track or a particular race where he thrashed his competition. He had good race victories, but non dominant.

A career he can be proud off but won't be hailed in the pantheon of great drivers, let alone British drivers.

[Jellowstrom]

He'll always be a c**k in my book but you can't fault that he was a solid driver to support Mika and has done pretty damn good in that Red Bull. I'd imagine that every driver out there would want a partner like DC, someone who isn't going to steel your championship but will be a pretty decent rear gunner for you (not a euphemism there).

[OQmYckYz]

My memories of David "This is my year" Coulthard are, unsurprisingly since he won most of his races for McLaren, not entirely positive.

- Crashing in the pitlane in Adelaide '95
- Giving way to Hakkinen at both the last race of '97 and the first of '98
- Crashing into Schumi at Spa '98 and having the German try to knock his block off
- Flipping Schumi the bird at Magny Cours '00

DC fits solidly into what I call the "Patrese Class". Good solid No.2s who are always there, there-abouts, but not quite fast enough to win a title. Guys like DC, Berger, Barrichello and of course Patrese himself were exactly what you wanted to back up a true contender.

I won't miss DC but he deserved his place in F1 as much as anyone.

[Unlinozistimi]

Frankly it was time to quit. Maybe even a year late.

But that doesn't take much away from DC. He won 13 GPs, over 60 podiums and contributed to a WCC winning team.

That's more than can be said for 99% of F1 drivers.

He comments were always insightful and I'll be glad if we can have him as part of the BBC team to leverage his knowledge.

Thanks DC, for all the great memories. And enjoy the rest of your life

[AllAdobeOEMSoftDownload]

on his day he was capable of a WDC

That statement is quite contradictory.

[LottiFurmann]

A very good driver, but never really up to the standard of winning a championship. Despite the predictions back in 1994/5.

Yes, he did get into top cars, namely the Williams and McLaren, but Williams was very much focused on Damon Hill in 1995 and he had to share his seat with Senna and Mansell in 1994.

With his time at McLaren at first the car was a total dog, remember the McLaren of the mid-90's was a mid-fielder even on a good day. When the car eventually did come good in the late 90's the problem was that he had an exceptional driver, in the form of Hakkinen, as his team mate. And then Raikkonen, but by that time we were into Ferrari domination so nobody noticed what was going on at McLaren.

A very good driver, and had he been given the top car and No. 1 status, he would have won the championship, but the circumstances were never right for DC.