DC announces his retirement from Formula One Thursday 03rd July 2008
David today announced his intension to retire from competitive Formula One racing at the end of this season. We will be updating the news pages with exclusive quotes from Silverstone over the weekend and also look out for an audio Q & A interview from DC's annual Official Fan Club meeting. Various photographs and exclusives will also be posted on the Pitboard Forums throughout the Silverstone Grand Prix weekend. You can become a member of the forums here.
Here's David's official statement with regards to his retirement announcement:
I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula 1 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!
My decision to retire was taken earlier in the year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive and enjoying the immense challenge that grand prix driving represents.
I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport.
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 13 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.
There are many people who have played a part in my career and I would like to list a few of them below:
- My parents, whose energy and encouragement through my entire career has been amazing
- Dave Boyce who guided me through karting
- David Leslie Senior and Junior for teaching me how to set up and race a car
- Sir Jackie and Paul Stewart for putting me through their ‘staircase of talent’
- Sir Frank Williams and Williams-Renault for having the faith to promote me from test driver to race driver, which led to my first GP victory
- Ron Dennis and the McLaren team where I spent nine seasons and achieved the majority of my success
- Norbert Haug and Mercedes for being racers through and through
- Dietrich Mateschitz and his Red Bull Racing team for providing me with the chance to contribute to the development of a new team, while continuing to compete and add to my tally of podiums
- Christian Horner for his open and professional management style in association with Helmut Marko
- Bernie Ecclestone for providing such a strong platform for us all to develop our skills and be able to call ourselves professionals. In years to come, my future family will still be thanking him for the financial success of F1
- My management team of Martin Brundle and David Cawthorne in association with Annette Hutchinson and Iain Cunningham for providing their valued opinions
- There have been three teams but only one designer, so Adrian Newey deserves special thanks for all the champagne that I have sprayed
- And last but not least, all the media, officials, marshals, medical support, mechanics, engineers, sponsors, lawyers, accountants and backroom staff that I have worked with during this period.
David Coulthard
Silverstone, 2008
In the meantime here's how the rest of the motorsport world are reporting the story:
From Autosport.com:
David Coulthard announced on Thursday he will retire from Formula One racing at the end of the current season.
The 37-year-old Scot, who has been racing in Formula One since 1994, said he will remain as a consultant to Red Bull Racing and has not ruled out racing in other categories in the future.
"I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula One at the end of this season," said the Scot in a statement ahead of the British Grand Prix.
"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," added the Red Bull driver.
Coulthard, who made his F1 racing debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1994, will leave the sport after over 230 races, including 13 wins.
"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," added Coulthard.
"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."
From ITV F1:
David Coulthard has confirmed that he will retire from Formula 1 racing at the end of the 2008 season. But the veteran Scot intends to remain involved in the sport, and will stay on with Red Bull Racing as a consultant and development driver. "I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula 1 at the end of this season," said Coulthard in a statement issued at Silverstone. "I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing, focusing on testing and development of the cars. "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."
The itv.com/f1 columnist revealed that he had decided earlier in the season that this would be his last year of F1 racing. "My decision to retire was taken earlier in the year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive and enjoying the immense challenge that grand prix driving represents," Coulthard explained. "I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport.
"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." He added that while this year's Interlagos race would be his final F1 start, he would not rule out racing in another category in the future. "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," Coulthard said.
The 37-year-old has contested 237 GPs since making his debut with Williams in mid-1994, when he was promoted from test driver duties to the race team following the death of Ayrton Senna. He remained with Williams until the end of 1995, taking his first F1 win in Portugal that year, before switching to McLaren - where he would claim 12 further victories during a record nine-year stint at the team. Coulthard then joined Red Bull Racing for its inaugural F1 season in 2005, and has played an integral role in the team's progress up the grid.
David Coulthard says he feels “fulfilled” as he approaches the end of his Formula 1 career and insists he will retire from the sport with no regrets.Coulthard, who will continue as a consultant for RBR, says he has been pleased with how his 14-year career has panned out and will not look back at missed oppportunities. When asked if his retirement decision had been a difficult one to make, he replied: “Not really, no. “I’ve always had a fairly realistic view on the career of a sportsman, how long they last and the opportunities there for them. “As I said, I feel fulfilled. “I won’t be looking back and thinking ‘if only I had a world championship-winning car'. I did have a world championship car – I just didn’t win it. “But I won a number of grands prix and had a lot of fun along the way and the journey I started with Red Bull will continue, but not as a grand prix driver. “That’s something I’m entirely comfortable with and I’m looking forward to the remaining races.”
The 37-year-old elaborated on the reasons for his decision in the press conference and explained that after more than 230 races he felt that it was the "right time" to bow out while he was still enjoying his racing. He added that he was satisfied with the contribution he had made to Red Bull’s development as a team since joining at its inception three years ago. “I have had a growing feeling this year that this year it’s the right time to make it my last in Formula 1,” he said. “I am enjoying very much the challenge, the racing – despite all of the incidents at the beginning of the year, the thought process was before then – and I am still competitive with the machinery I’ve got. “After 15 years I’m clearly not going to battle for a world championship, unlikely to win another grand prix unless something remarkable happens this year and I feel fulfilled with the role I’ve played at Red Bull when I took that job a few years ago. “I’ve helped the team grow and seen the team move forward and taken seriously I believe in paddock – I’m not saying they weren’t before, but people didn’t know what to expect when Red Bull were buying a Formula 1 team. “I think it is a good time [to retire]. I will be 38 next year and nothing lasts forever, and I’ve enjoyed my racing – it’s the right time.”
Coulthard, the sport’s fourth most experienced driver of all-time, says despite his imminent retirement he is still looking forward to the final 10 races of his career. “I have all the motivation [still], I’m enjoying the racing and I would hate to find myself in a situation when I wake up and think I don’t want to go racing,” he said. “I’m contracted to the team, and I’ve seen it with other people and I don’t want to be in that situation. “For some people it never happens, but I don’t want to find myself in that situation. “But after 15 seasons the sport is in good hands and after Brazil in November that will be it.”
From GPUpdate.net:
David Coulthard will retire from Formula One at the end of this season the Scotsman announced on Thursday afternoon. Coulthard did say he will remain actively involved in F1 as a consultant to Red Bull Racing focusing on testing and development of the cars.
Coulthard said in a statement he retires from Formula 1 but might race in a different series. "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!" he said.
Coulthard furthermore explained about his decision to retire from Formula One. "My decision to retire was taken earlier in the year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive and enjoying the immense challenge that Grand Prix driving represents. I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport.
"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."
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