DC expected to announce his retirement in Britain

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_3770207,00.html

David Coulthard will reportedly announcement his retirement from Formula One at this weekend's British Grand Prix.


The BBC says that the Scot has opted to call it quits on his F1 career at the end of this season and will announce his decision later this weekend if not later today at the FIA press conference, which he is scheduled to attend.


At age 37 Coulthard is the oldest driver on the current F1 grid and has spent the past few years fielding questions about when he will retire.


The Red Bull driver, though, has always said that he hopes to continue racing but recently conceded that perhaps time has run out for him.


"I have had a great career," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. "It is better to be a has-been than a never-been."


However, the Scot later added that he saw no reason why Red Bull would want to replace him or why he should start thinking of his future.


"I just get on with the driving. If I deliver value and have the motivation, why would Red Bull go for someone 16-year-old just because they are an energy drinks company?" he said.


"I have always maintained that if you start making too many plans, then mentally you are preparing to retire. There must be an element of lifting slightly or backing off."


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I have always liked DC and have watched him in F1 since he started. Its a shame but he missed his window to be WC in the late 90s while at Maclaren.
I wish the guy good luck in his retirement.

 

I like DC--he's a good guy--but he's always been a little weak. He's had a decent career and should thoroughly enjoy reaping the benefits of what he has sown.

 

Maybe we will see him on Top Gear! Or a he could always team up with Ralf and drive DTM.

 

He has now officially announced his retirement: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=35273

 

I've always likes DC. He was a driver who spoke his mind, and whether I agreed with him or not, it was refreshing. I'll never stop laughing over that "I'll knock three colours of **** out of the little bastard" comment about Massa.

On the other hand, we now have a race seat with RBR for Sebastian Vettal. Let's see what he does with it against Webber in 09.

 

well, DC is probably one of the most sporting guy on teh grid, minus the 98 Spa incident. i hole he will be a commentator tho

 

He has been a moving chicane the last few years who has developed a reputation of an unyielding mid packer who refuses to let faster cars by. His peers have not spoken kindly of him in recent years. He should have retired 2 years ago.

 

Any insight as to how he would fare as a commentator? I know he has the smarts and the experience. It makes me wonder if stepping out of the cockpit would open up a side of him that he's holding back out of sporting decency? I could see him making a LeMans run, possibly Indy 500. That would be cool to watch.

 

So, you consider that the demands of endurance racing or Indianapolis are less than F1, and that a retiree from F1 would do good?

I don't think that's the case. Remember Piquet? A monumental crash at Indy.
As for endurance, hardly any top F1 driver was succesful after they retired from GP.
Endurance is a discipline in itself, like NASCAR, that require skills different than F1 too.
Look what happened to Alboreto. Look at Villeneuve, or Montoya.

When they retire from F1, drivers should retire for good.
F1 is the pinacle of motor sport, and start a new career in a different discipline at 37 is too late.

 

So long Superman.

 

He would make excellent as a broadcaster, I think. A very articulate guy, and obviously knowledgeable from all his F1 experience.

 

A LOT of F1 drivers have moved on to either endurance racing or GT. And we've also seen a LOT of F1 drivers "retire" to the ranks of IndyCar. I'm not commenting on the demands of anything, but I think history speaks just fine on that account. I would just like to see him make an effort in some of racing's most prominent events. He has Monaco under his belt, and now that he's still in racing shape, why not explore other disciplines. As far as age, I think Derek Bell would disagree with DC being too old

 

Yeah DC is a nice guy but it was about time he retired. His career kind of evolved backwards and there was not really much more to see from him. This year he's caused a couple of stupid crashes by not yielding in obvious passing manouvers.

DC had a good career, 13 wins is certainly an acomplishment although it must have been tough to watch teammates and former teammates clinching championships. I wish him good luck in what ever he decides to do yet I dont think he will be missed on the track.

 

I haven't always agreed with his way of protecting his position, but he's always seemed like a genuinely good guy. Hope he has a happy retirement.

So this means Vettel will probably go to RBR next year. I wonder who STR will get to replace him.

 

I wish we had more like him on the grid. I've got a signed pic of him during in his Rothmans Williams Renault driving suit sitting here on my desk. Thirteen F1 wins is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

 

I hope he takes Rubens with him into retirement. Seriously, DC was a nice guy, maybe too nice. I hope he enjoys his retirement in good health.

 

Wow, DC has been around for so long. Anyways, he's a cool guy, and I hope he has an awesome retirement.

Have you guys seen his finance? I'm sure he'll have a hell of a retirement, lol.

 

Whoa, easy there! I think Emerson Fittipaldi would take issue with that. Post-F1, he won Indy twice. Mario was another F1 "retiree" that fared well in CART. Heck, you could argue that Mansell, when he went to CART was technically a retired F1 driver. The year he won his championship, many were predicting his departure - he then scored the driver's title and CART title a year later!

The list of retirees thriving post-F1 is long - Larini, McNish, Alboreto (RIP), Herbert, Zanardi, etc. Villeneuve just took second at LeMans!

I think DC will find his way to Touring Cars or Sports Cars - the logical place to go when you have left F1. He's probably got a few years left if his competitive fire is strong.

 

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) -- David Coulthard will retire from Formula One at the end of the season, ending a career that saw him win more than a dozen races but repeatedly saw him just fall short of the world championship.
Coulthard is embraced by fellow-Britons Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button after announcing his retirement.

Coulthard is embraced by fellow-Britons Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button after announcing his retirement.

The 37-year-old Scot, who has driven for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull since 1994, has won 13 F1 races from 237 starts but none since the 2003 Australian Grand Prix. His best result this season was third at the Canadian GP on June 9.

Coulthard, who made his announcement at Silverstone on Thursday -- three days ahead of the British GP -- was the last driver to win the race back-to-back for McLaren in 1999 and 2000.

However, much of his career coincided with the dominance of Michael Schumacher, who won seven titles for Benetton and Ferrari.

"After 15 years I'm not going to battle for a world championship," said Coulthard, whose best finish in the drivers championship was second to Schumacher in 2001 to go with five third-place finishes.

"I'm unlikely to win another GP unless something remarkable happens this year. I did have a world championship-winning car. I just didn't win it."

Coulthard moved from testing to be a front-line driver for Williams after Ayrton Senna's death at the San Marino GP in Imola in 1994, and he won his first F1 race in Portugal in 1995.

He went on to finish third that season but he won his other 12 F1 races for McLaren during a nine-year spell with the team.

He moved to Red Bull in 2005 but is yet to win a race or achieve a pole position with the team. His best so far were third places at Monaco in 2006 and at Montreal a month ago.

"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," Coulthard said.

"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."

Coulthard said he would continue working as a consultant with Red Bull, 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," he said. "So I am definitely not hanging up my helmet."

Meanwhile, Coulthard's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber has extended his contract with the team for the whole of the 2009 season.

Webber said: "It was a pretty easy decision. Coming here last year I settled in quickly. We have consistently performed. It's an ambitious environment and we can be proud of our season so far."

Despite not managing a podium finish soar this season, Australian Webber has amassed 18 points and currently sits eighth in the world standings.

He joined Red Bull prior to the 2007 season and his three-year stay at the team will be his longest stint with a single employer in Formula One.

"We are delighted to confirm the extension of Mark's relationship into 2009," commented Red Bull team principle Christian Horner. It was a straightforward and short discussion process."

Over the last season-and-a-half Coulthard and Webber have helped Red Bull establish themselves as a competitive outfit. So far this season they have guided the team to fourth in the constructors' championship.

 

His chin will be missed.

 

Is anybody surprised?

Does anybody care?

 

DC was a character. He's been in F1 so long, I'll miss him.

Thanks for the memories DC, have a fun retirement!!

 

We can do a memorial thread for him at the end of the season.

 

I thought this was the memorial thread It's not like he will do a whole lot from here until the end of the season...