David Coulthard
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Biography
David Coulthard is one of the most successful British Formula One drivers with 13 Grand Prix victories.
David Marshall Coulthard was born in Twynholm, Scotland on March 27, 1971. His father had a keen interest in karting and was more than happy when David at the age of 12 took it up. He used the family karting vehicle, the Mercedes 508 diesel van till he was 18 when he got his own car- a Renault 5 GT Turbo.
In 1989, David started out on the Formula Ford circuit. His driving was so remarkable that he won McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award. However, the next year was marred with a broken leg at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He bounced back in 1991 at Formula 3 to win the European Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 and the Macau Grand Prix. In 1992, he started racing in the Formula 3000 series and finished ninth. In 1993, David finished to a stellar third.
In 1993, David joined Williams Renault as a test driver. He got his first break with Aryton Senna's tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. He was promoted to the race team. David could only manage to take the second place at Estoril.
In 1995, David drove full time for his first full season in Formula One racing and won his first Grand Prix in Portugal.
In 1996, Coulthard joined McLaren as the No. 2 driver with Mika Hakkinen. That year was unremarkable but in 1997, he won two races and tied with Jean Alesi for third place in the Drivers' Championship.
In 1998, the team of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen was very successful. Hakkinen won the Drivers' Championship in 1998 and McLaren won their third constructors title. David Coulthard, however, won just one race and finished third in the championship.
In 1999, David dropped to the fourth place with two wins. Hakkinen won the championship but McLaren lost the constructor title to Ferrari.
In 2000, David was in a tight contention for the Drivers' Championship with Schumacher and Häkkinen, but finished third. The next year, however, he was in the second place.
In 2002, Hakkinen retired, but Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen became the No.1 driver. From 2002, David did not finish in the top three and began his decline. In 2005, Juan Pablo Montoya replaced David in the McLaren team. After nine seasons with McLaren and 12 wins (all of them when Hakkinen was in the team), David joined the Red Bull team as their No.1 driver.
In 2006, at the Monaco Grand Prix, David finished third and Red Bull team got its first podium finish. At the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix, David Coulthard joined Formula One's "200 Club", the list of drivers who completed 200 Grand Prix races, including Riccardo Patrese, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Gerhard Berger, Andrea de Cesaris, Nelson Piquet, and Jean Alesi. Ultimate success has eluded him but he remains a star.
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