With only days to go until the 2014 Formula 1 season kicks off in Australia, I spent some time with the BBC F1 crew in London to get their views on the impending championship. Here’s my interview with the straight talking David Coulthard…
James: Do you miss Formula 1 during the winter? Or is it exactly that, a break to you?
DC: Well… I think yes, I see it as a break. The only reason I hesitate is because I’m so used to this being the cycle, that I just accept it for what it is – you know, I have been with people close to the end of the Formula 1 season and they go “Ah, I can’t wait for the season to be over” and they can’t wait to get away from Formula 1. I’ve never felt that – you know, if the season kept on going, that’s what I would do because this is the sport I love, this is the sport I want to race in, this is the sport I enjoy commentating on. So, life is always going to be full of things you really enjoy and things you less enjoy, but some of the things we less enjoy we have to do on a daily basis but we just accept them for what they are. So, now I’ve got my answer… (He laughs), I don’t miss Formula 1 during the off season because I see it as an essential reset for everybody for the fans, for the teams and for the drivers.
“Who would aspire to be Eddie Irvine?!”
James: So, back when you were a driver. How did you feel about winter testing and was it exciting to get a new car? And how did it feel when you get into a brilliant car compared with a dog of car?
DC: Well, yeah I think winter testing was always exciting because it represented opportunity and potential and if you felt that you had a wonderful car it was just a brilliant feeling. Testing… there was nothing better in those days – I was very lucky in my period because we did a lot of tyre testing, we did tyre battles and it was a wonderful way to get performance – so the theory of “just bolt on faster tyres” and seeing if they can go quicker. It’s more difficult to get more horsepower and to get more down force. And I used to enjoy working with the clever, bright engineers because, I could tell them what I felt, but I couldn’t tell them what I need you know, in terms of design they could come up with that and together you come up with the solution – so I did enjoy it. I remember in 2008 when the car didn’t feel like it had performance, and it felt like it was going to be a long season. And that was all part of me focusing in on and that was the time to (retire) and the minute you think that you become mentally retired. It’s best to leave it to the young focused hungry racers.
On Michael Schumacher’s accident: “something good will come out of that…”
James: This is your fourth year in the box how do you feel about your career now? Did you ever envisage an F1 TV career after your driving career?
DC: Well, funnily enough, I did because my father, not because he’s Bernie Ecclestone or some visionary, but I remember when I was 14 watching Formula 1 on the television and my father saying “If you get into Formula 1, this could be huge for you in terms of positioning, base, travel and then afterwards following on to television because I was always used to listening to Murray Walker and James Hunt. It was always like – when I got to Formula 1, it wasn’t a surprise – and when I started work on television, it wasn’t a surprise. As young kids, if we don’t have a vision of where we would like to be then it’s hard to have a goal. And to get to somewhere, it is much more efficient for you need to have a goal of where to go because if you are just meandering then you just meander. Where if, at least, you say “well I want to go there” you might not make it but at least if you’ve got the goal it gives you somewhere to aim for, so you know that ‘those were the aims’. I feel that, because it’s the BBC and because of Britain, there’s a certain sense of pride and there’s a lot of opportunity. And that’s also how I listened, too when growing up.
James: What are your thoughts on your future in F1, do you see yourself more as a ‘Jackie Stewart’, or more ‘Eddie Irvine’?
DC: Well, definitely not Eddie Irvine, who would aspire to be Eddie Irvine? (He laughs) But Jackie, I think, is a great example as he is someone who has worked in television, he has been an ambassador for a number of companies, and he continues to, in his seventies, travel the world promoting and gaining financially himself. But there is no question, he has given a great deal back to the sport, so I have a number of ‘grand’ contracts that I facilitate in and deliver for in conjunction with what I do for the BBC and I think I am very lucky and I enjoy the life I have today.
James: Could I ask your thoughts on Michael Schumacher’s accident and his condition?
DC: Well, it’s clearly tragic when anybody has a life altering accident and in Michael’s case we have a heavy statistics about a month ago, and I’m sure it has been added to since then, in the alps alone there were more than 30 fatalities over the winter periods, and that’s not including life altering injuries like head injuries and so now you’re getting into serious numbers of people affected by similar circumstances. It’s not unique to the Alps in the winter either. On the road everyday someone has either lost a life or had a life changing injury. In the case of Michael’s journey: one, it was a high profile accident, a skiing accident seemingly just having some fun like so many of us do with family and friends and, at the moment there is no clear news as to how the recovery is going, if at all. So, for someone to go from having the highest success… publicly in what is seen as such a dangerous sport to be in the situation he is in right now of course, it captures people’s attention. Whilst his family go through the terror of dealing with that, and trying to get on with their lives – you know, I heard that the son was racing over the weekend in karting, trying to keep the normality in the children’s’ lives. So, something good will come out of that and I’ve heard some things from the FIA representatives that they may be putting more regulations on skiing helmets as they are not as strict as motorbike helmets, for instance. If you are doing 60kph or more on skis; why would you wear a plastic helmet, when you wouldn’t do the same on a motorbike? But it’s shocking, and it’s tragic and until such time that we hear otherwise you’ve got to believe that he’s going to make a superman recovery and to continue his life.
James: Last question from me and slightly more light-hearted – When my mum sees you on television, she always says you are brilliantly dressed and that I should get some of those tight white jeans for summer, where did you get them and could I afford them?
DC: Oh, absolutely, yes! They’re available at all good Hugo Boss shops (I might be an ambassador) but there’s no brand preferencing at the BBC, honest.
It was great to talk to David. He’s a very approachable character and I wished him luck for the the season ahead. Want to hear more from DC? Check out our legendary quotes from David Coulthard article here.
This interview was transcribed by Harvey Richardson-Shii.