How Coulthard got revenge for being 'scorned' by McLaren F1

David Coulthard has revealed why he decided to take up the Red Bull challenge after his years at McLaren F1. The Scottish driver had been frustrated to have been left out by Ron Dennis in favor of Juan Pablo Montoya, and he remembers being stung in his pride by Martin Whitmarsh, then sporting director of the team.

“I was not ready to stop. I had done 11 seasons in Formula 1 and McLaren had decided to choose Montoya. He only lasted one year in the team, I did nine, it was a much more pungent character and he could never have really worked in the system” Coulthard recalls.

“But like Ron thought he could tame Nigel Mansell, he thought he could tame Juan Pablo. It didn’t work. I wasn’t finished. I remember seeing Martin Whitmarsh, at the end of the season, in Stuttgart , at an event called Stars and Cars that Mercedes used to hold.”

“Martin Whitmarsh jokingly said ‘on your bike’ (expression meaning him to leave, editor’s note). It really tipped me off, because I’ve always dealt with Ron, but never with Martin. And I said that I was not done with Formula 1, and that I was going to take the best engineers from McLaren with me.

Whitmarsh should have been ‘wary’ of Coulthard

And his mission was a success, since he convinced Red Bull to hire Adrian Newey, and played in the validation of the project by the latter. An action that had big repercussions on the F1 world as Newey helped Red Bull win six drivers’ titles and five constructors’ crowns.

“Christian [Horner, directeur de Red Bull] and I therefore arranged a private meeting with Adrian in London at the Bluebird Cafe, the Donald Campbell in King’s Road, and then flew him to Salzburg to meet Dietrich [Mateschitz]and that’s how we introduced him to the world of Red Bull.”

“I’m proud to have been able to play a role in bringing him to the team and to be able to say to Martin Whitmarsh ‘I told you so’. I think one of the key elements of Christian’s success is that he was able to keep Adrian on the team while nurturing other great engineers and mechanics.”

Coulthard is happy to have been able to give back to Whitmarsh: “And that’s why they’re always up to the job. They’re not always 100 per cent successful, but they are more often successful than if they weren’t. A despised Scotsman is something to be beware…”