Copyright AP Photos/Paul Chiasson

David Coulthard has announced that he will be retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the season, ending a 14-year career as an F1 driver with teams like Williams,McLaren and RedBull.

 In a press statement given just a few days before the Silverstone Grand Prix, which is considered as the Scot's homerace, he said that he will be retiring as an F1 driver, but will be remaining with the Red Bull team as a team development role. He is also not ruling out involvement in other forms of motorsports.

The Red Bull driver's retirement at the end of the season would mean that Red Bull Racing team now has 1 seat up for grabs and the candidate is most likely to be Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber has already confirmed his commitment to the Red Bull team for another season.

Below are some comments from other F1 personnel regarding David Coulthard:

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal: 

"Working with David has been an absolute pleasure and his contribution to the team over the past four seasons has been significant. He is a consummate professional and I think that one of the key elements to the length of his career is the dedication he has applied and the commitment he has shown to the team. He has demonstrated that he is a real team player, a fact reinforced by the statistic that he has only driven for two other F1 teams in his career.

To date, he has won thirteen Grand Prix and there could have been many more if you count the near misses and the ones he gifted to other drivers! He scored our first point, our first podium and was the first of our drivers to lead a Grand Prix.

Above all, he is a gentleman and I regard him as a good friend. Within the team there's a huge amount of respect for David.

 Kimi Räikkönen, former team-mate of David Coulthard in McLaren:

"David is a very nice guy and I enjoyed my time as team-mates.

"Everyone comes to a point where he has to stop and David is 37 so I guess that time has come now. But he is still driving well so he has made the right decision in quitting while he is still competitive in an F1 car. Me retiring? I have a contract for next season!"

  Below is David Coulthard's press statement in full: 

I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula One 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 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.

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 lead 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 back room staff that I have worked with during this period.

DC
Silverstone 2008

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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