Autoblog

Click above for a stunning high-res gallery of D.C.'s 2008 highlights.

The end of an era. That's what we called it when rumors began intensifying just a couple of days ago that David Coulthard might retire from Formula One racing. Those rumors were confirmed today – at the Silverstone track, one day before the start of his home race – when the elder statesman of grand prix racing announced his retirement.

To get an idea of just how long Coulthard has been racing, remember that his first race was to fill the late Ayrton Senna's seat at Williams after the famed Brazilian's fatal crash 14 years ago. Since that fateful start, Coulthard has competed in 236 grands prix to date, winning 13 of them, taking pole position 12 times and setting the fastest lap 18 times. DC spent nine seasons with McLaren, and was instrumental in brokering the purchase of the defunct Jaguar team from Ford by Red Bull, with whom he has raced for the past few seasons, scoring the team's first point and first podium. This weekend's British Grand Prix will be David's last home race, having won the event twice in his career.

So what's next for the flying Scotsman? For starters, he will remain as a consultant to Red Bull Racing, pitching in for development driving, much like his contemporaries Schumacher and Hakkinen still do for Ferrari and McLaren respectively. Despite earlier assertions, however, Coulthard says he will remain open-minded about racing in other leagues, and we could very well see him back in the race seat for the Race of Champions at London's Wembley Stadium in December, however it remains to be seen if Coulthard will try his hand at Le Mans, DTM or some other form of motor racing or rallying. Meanwhile, the vacation of his seat at Red Bull leaves the door open for Sebastian Vettel's promotion from the Toro Rosso B-squad, so sit tight for that announcement. In the meantime we wish David all the best of luck for the remainder of his last season and for life after F1. Follow the jump to read David Coulthard's official statement.

[Source: Formula 1]

Now campaigning his 15th consecutive season at 37 years old, David Coulthard is Formula One's elder statesman. His 236 grands prix contested to date is second only to Rubens Barrichello's 261, and the Scotsman has elevated his suffering of the latest batch of rookies each season to an art form. But that may be winding to a close, as DC looks into the future.

With rumors of Red Bull promoting its young driver Sebastian Vettel out of the Toro Rosso junior team and into Coulthard's seat, the veteran driver is admitting it might be time to hang up the helmet and move on. And what does he think of the proposition? "Boo hoo.... There are a lot of worse things that can happen to you. You just move on to the next challenge."

The next obvious question is what the next challenge will be for the perennial fixture of the F1 grid. He's already discounted the notion of moving to another team. Rumors suggest he could move into a management role in the Red Bull team he helped establish. Others suggest he could buy out Toro Rosso with the cash he's liquidating from the sale of his five-star Columbus hotel in Monaco (realizing what was previously just a joke). A third possibility pegs him as a commentator for BBC's Formula One coverage. What he's committed to avoid, however, is following his longtime friend Jacques Villeneuve in pursuit of a NASCAR seat, or reverting to any other racing series for that matter. "After F1, everything else is a step down."

[Sources: autosport and F1-Live; photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images for Puma]

David Coulthard is getting older, but his driving doesn't seem to be getting any better. The Scottish driver does, however, have an innate ability for survival, remaining the oldest driver on the F1 grid after having just celebrated his 37th birthday days ago.

It was Coulthard who pitched the failing Jaguar Racing team to Dietrich Mateschitz, convincing the Red Bull chief to become a team owner. Now that Mateschitz has announced his intention to sell his 50% stake in the Italian team, a report has surfaced indicating that Coulthard is going to buy out his current boss and switch over to the new team starting in 2010. According to the unsubstantiated report, the deal would secure Coulthard a race seat for many, many years to come, while fellow F1 driving veteran Gerhard Berger would retain his half and stay on as team principal. Coulthard also indicated that the team could switch from Ferrari to Mercedes power and be renamed Coulthard Power Racing (CPR), which raises the distinct possibility that, it being April 1st, this entire story could be hoax. Sigh... is this day over yet?

[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty]

Goodwood has been an incredible experience and we hope you have enjoyed the coverage as much as we've enjoyed providing it. One of the numerous highlights for us was undoubtedly the Formula 1 cars; from those outrageous beasts of the '30s and '40s, through the mid-engine revolution, and on up to the technically-packed computers on wheels we have today. Friday and Saturday they had a relatively dry track to play with, and most of them seemed to be taking advantage of the conditions. Sunday's rains meant it was a bit trickier to put together a quick time, but it provided a chance for many drivers to just put on a good show for the fans.

And the drivers themselves were a big part of the show. From Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Sir Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill, and Emerson Fittipaldi, to Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson, it was a pretty impressive list. And sometimes the pairings were just magical, as when Damon Hill found himself behind the wheel of one of his father Graham's old single-seaters. As cool as it was to see the older legends in action, the real thrill comes from having so many current drivers and cars on hand.

Davidson drove the 1987 Williams-Honda FW11B that Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet won the championship with. Ferrari had cars from 1960, '68, '93, '98, 2000 and 2006. Honda brought their latest car, the Earth-decorated RA107, in which Christien Klien took on the driving duties until Jenson Button showed up. McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull, Toyota, and Williams-Toyota all brought out '06 or '07 cars as well. Because the competition was getting a little beyond the safety measures at the event, these cars weren't timed, but drivers like Coulthard and Hamilton really showed what the cars could do. Long burnouts while waving seemed to warm the hearts of the soaked crowd. Some drivers stayed for autographs, but with a race next week and all that rain still coming down, it was understandable that most could only be there for a short time.



All photos © 2007 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

For those who think this is shaping up to be an exciting F1 season, next year should be a stunner. The FIA has confirmed that traction control will not be allowed in 2008. With traction control about to be banned from F1, Formula One Drivers are split on the decision. Most have said they support the move, but most racers will usually say they prefer fewer electronic aids getting in the way of pure mechanical feel and control of the vehicle. At this level of performance, however, the drivers often like to talk a good game and downplay the significance of the devices. It's more driver skill, they'll tell you. But for some of today's drivers, electronics have been fitted to every car they have raced at this level of competition. The aids themselves have been used since 2001.

Follow the jump to see how some of the top drivers feel about this issue.

[Source: PaddockTalk]

Ferarri's new driver Kimi Raikkonen put in a dominant performance to win the opening round of the 2007 Formula One series over the McLaren duo of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and debutante Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen, who started from the pole position, had an incident-free race and at one point held a massive 15-second lead over the field. His Ferrari was clearly faster than many other cars in the race, allowing him to lap all but seven of his opponents by the end.

The race, run in perfect conditions, started impressively with a huge crush of vehicles successfully navigating the tight first and third turns of the course without any clashes.

There were a small number of vehicle failures throughout, and one spectacular collision when David Coulthard of the Red Bull team attempted an impossible passing maneuver around a tight, windy section of the temporary street circuit, cutting across the front of Williams-Toyota's Alexander Wurz. Coulthard's front left wheel assembly was smashed as his vehicle flicked up onto and then slid across the nose of Wurz's car and went flying through the air to land safely in the sand. Remarkably, Wurz was able to continue without any problems while Coulthard walked away from his ruined machine. Despite this, the pace car was not required throughout the 58 lap Australian Grand Prix, which ran very smoothly after requiring four stoppages last year.

[Source: The Age]

Red Bull Racing has apparently sold Christian Klien's seat to Dutch racer and Red Bull test driver Robert Doornbos (right). According to F1Racing.net, Doornbos' sponsor Muermans will pay more than $19 million to put their man in the seat currently held by Red Bull protege Klien, which is an all-time record for a paid drive in Formula 1.

Although paid drives are not uncommon at the lower end of the grid (they were a major source of revenue for Minardi, where Doornbos last raced), they are unusual in teams with aspirations to be front-runners (i.e., with money), who typically prefer to pick their drivers based on talent, rather than funding. Not to say that Doornbos is without talent. But still.

Red Bull issued an official statement on its driver lineup in response to the rumors - can read their press release after the jump.

[Sources: F1Racing.net, Red Bull Racing] Thanks for the tip, amp!