David Coulthard

Name: David Coulthard

Nationality: Great Britain

Date of birth: April 27, 1971 - Twynholm, Scotland

From the moment that he graduated from karting to Formula Ford racing cars, David Coulthard seemed impressively fast, hitting lap record speeds in his first trials. Assisted initially by rapid Scot David Leslie and his father, Coulthard then came under the auspices of Jackie Stewart as a member of the elder Scot's Staircase of Talent.

His rise through the ranks was impressive, F3000 following Formula Ford and Formula Three. When Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola in May 1994, Coulthard was already Williams' test driver, and moved smoothly into the role of Damon Hill's teammate.

Only an ignition problem stopped Coulthard from finishing third in his first Grand Prix, at Barcelona. And as he alternated through that difficult season with the team's other choice, former champion Nigel Mansell, he did enough to confirm his potential. At the end of the season Williams opted for the younger man's promise in preference to Mansell's proven skill, and signed him full-time.

Throughout 1995 he was fast Ð

Coulthard seemed young and polished enough to ride out such storms, and was more settled when he switched to partner Mika Hakkinen at McLaren for 1996. Scotland saw him as the long-awaited Great Hope to follow in the wheeltracks of Clark and Stewart, but the road has been difficult. In 1996 he was indeed as fast as Hakkinen, but the Finn was still recovery from his near-fatal injury in Adelaide. By 1997 they were evenly matched, but since 1998 Hakkinen has definitely had an edge that has left Coulthard feeling uncomfortable and resorting to end of season promises to do better.

He has won races and qualified well, but there are still lingering doubts over his ultimate potential. Personable and pleasant, Coulthard has changed little since his early days, but the jury is still out on whether he really can hack it at the very top level.

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