Coulthard future unclear

Knowlesy · 9 Apr 2005, 16:55 (Ref:1274103)

Unsure if this has been posted elsewhere, nor am I sure of its credibility.

I was reading in a newspaper today (unsure which one) that David Coulthard has reportedly contacted Dietrich Mateschitz today to clarify his future with the team.

Mateschitz has been quoted in Italy as saying that Coulthard isn't in his plans for 2006 and he has settled on the driver pairing of Liuzzi and Klien for next year.

Interesting, if this is true.........Coulthard has done a very good job this year in my view and to some extent has proved myself and many others wrong. He is respected by the young drivers in the team and Christian Horner speaks highly of him, as do most in the team.

So is this more Red Bull Racing craziness? It seems that Horner says one thing and that Mateschitz and co. make decisions to the opposite effect!

Would it be a good idea to keep Coulthard next season or should he go? After all, Klien is very handy and deserves a seat at the team. Liuzzi is about to get his racing shot and we mostly expect him to be a hit and to push DC hard, maybe outshine him.

But if DC is discarded, they lose that experienced head and technical input, which can be of such benefit to a team like RBR.

Interesting stuff......what do you make of it?

Kicking-back · 9 Apr 2005, 17:17 (Ref:1274123)

I think it would be worth keeping DC on next year - they'd get the full benefit of his input over a full winter of testing.

And he's scored points in every race this year - who would have predicted that before the season started.

GP Racer · 9 Apr 2005, 17:47 (Ref:1274148)

Well, Red Bull is all about youthful marketing, and I'm not sure that DC fits into that demographic. With all of the Red Bull driver programs out there, and all of the series that they support and sponsor, it should be quite easy for them to find some really good, young talent. I can see the line-up for next year being Klein/Liuzzi/Speed. All have the "look" that Red Bull wants to project, and the talent to match.

As I said in another thread on the Red Bull topic, this team will never have the best car in F1, but I do believe they will have the best driver line-up very soon...

Fantasy GP610 · 9 Apr 2005, 17:48 (Ref:1274150)

Red Bull is a developing team who need DC at the moment........ i can't see why that would change next year

2007 onward's may be a different story.

Anyway,we are only 3 races into the season and DC has done a fine job up to now.

IF Mateschitz has said this then i think it is VERY premature and not exactly helpful considering the good vibe Red Bull has going at the momeent.

Mind you he also said (if i am not mistaken) that he wouldn't employ DC......so it's a bit hard to know if what he say's will actually happen in reality.

Knowlesy · 9 Apr 2005, 17:50 (Ref:1274152)

Well I think DC was largely employed at the discretion of Purnell/Pitchforth. Those two are now gone of course......

johnw · 9 Apr 2005, 17:55 (Ref:1274158)

Maybe DC is looking elsewhere?
http://www.msttiming.com/singlesessi...ilverstone.gif

Kicking-back · 9 Apr 2005, 17:57 (Ref:1274159)

DC didn't join until after the takeover and he knew they would not be there when he signed his contract.

Marbot · 9 Apr 2005, 17:59 (Ref:1274161)

I'm sure RBR wouldn't turn down TGFs services just because he wasn't young and trendy.

A team needs the best drivers it can get,whoever they happen to be.

DC has been quite outspoken this year and has shown he has a sense of humour,best driver for the team at the moment.

Marlboro man · 9 Apr 2005, 19:14 (Ref:1274197)

I think DC is handy because he has experience and knows what it takes to win GP's. He's also been quite slower than Klien in quali. In other words, he's purely there for his experience. It could be that RBR doesn't need that experience anymore next year.
And of course, Klien en Liuzzi are good drivers and they match the RBR profile.
Young and fast.

Kicking-back · 9 Apr 2005, 19:18 (Ref:1274201)

Why are people obsessed with "he's been slower in qualifying"?

It's the race you get points for - and he has more of them.

Bear in mind, too, he's given Christian a lot of help - in some cases it's helped Klien outqualify him!

Silk Cut Jaguar · 9 Apr 2005, 19:41 (Ref:1274214)

David doesn't fit in with the image Red Bull are keen on projecting. It's the only logical explanation.

Marlboro man · 9 Apr 2005, 19:48 (Ref:1274216)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Why are people obsessed with "he's been slower in qualifying"?

It's the race you get points for - and he has more of them.

True, but will he continue to score more points in the race? At some point (haha) his teammates will get more experienced to.

Quote:

Bear in mind, too, he's given Christian a lot of help - in some cases it's helped Klien outqualify him!

It's still Klien who does the lap.

Knowlesy · 9 Apr 2005, 19:54 (Ref:1274222)

I agree his qualifying hurts him. Sure he is still garnering points. But he could get even more if he just got qualifying that bit better.

Still, doesn't detract from what has been a fairly good season for him so far. Even in a pretty awful weekend like Bahrain he got a point.

Marlboro man · 9 Apr 2005, 19:57 (Ref:1274225)

Sure DC can drive brilliant races but for everyone good race he also drives a ****ty one.
There's a reason why he's the driver with the most victories and no titel.

santori · 9 Apr 2005, 19:59 (Ref:1274227)

Didn't Mateschitz say DC wasn't in his plans for 2005 and then sign him?

Marlboro man · 9 Apr 2005, 20:03 (Ref:1274232)

That might have been a negociation strategy.

Knowlesy · 9 Apr 2005, 20:06 (Ref:1274234)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

DC didn't join until after the takeover and he knew they would not be there when he signed his contract.

He only found out a little time after he signed and was initially appalled. Although he now understands why the changes were made and is fully supportive of them.

Anyways, the point is, Purnell and Pitchforth, in my opinion, really swung Mateschitz into offering DC the drive, for the first year at least. I don't truly believe that Mateschitz is fully enamoured with the fact that DC drives for him, as much as he respects him.

So with DC's two main supporters long gone, the path is clear for him to offload DC for next season.....after all, hardly anybody will object now will they?!?!

Christian Horner is a DC fan.......but he seems to have no ultimate say in driver choice, which is a pity as he would know better than the two guys who make the final choice....

Fantasy GP610 · 9 Apr 2005, 20:42 (Ref:1274256)

Quote:

Originally Posted by knowlesy

So with DC's two main supporters long gone, the path is clear for him to offload DC for next season.....after all, hardly anybody will object now will they?!?!

Christian Horner is a DC fan.......but he seems to have no ultimate say in driver choice, which is a pity as he would know better than the two guys who make the final choice....

Knowsley

........how do you know "hardly anybody will object" and that Christian Horner "seems to have no ultimate say".

F1 is a cut-throat business and DC could be out at the end of this year just because he dosen't fit the "image" of Red Bull..........but what use is that image if the car and result's are rubbish.

Inigo Montoya · 9 Apr 2005, 20:44 (Ref:1274257)

Depends, if Liuzzi turns out to be the real deal (and they can keep him), then Klien and Liuzzi might be a good combo.

Rennen · 9 Apr 2005, 21:04 (Ref:1274264)

Come on guys!...There's no sentiment in F1!...Mateyschitz only bought JAG to get his two proteges into F1...DC was just a stop gap till Liuzzi found his feet. Really TL needed this year as 3rd driver...but we saw the way 'Matey' pushed Klien into racing last year...Marko's just as pushy!...little Jack H...just sits in the corner!

Snrub · 9 Apr 2005, 21:51 (Ref:1274300)

I can't 100% prove it, but it seems like DC's involvement in the team has made a substantial contribution to where there are today. Every team who's struggling should be looking at bringing DC on board to help sort things out. (from BAR back) I mentioned this once before, but during the SpeedTV coverage of the second round, they said that after DC did his qualifying run he radioed in and said "Tell Christian to run more front wing." Klien then proceded to outqualify him. Do you think Klien is going to be doing that for Liuzzi or vise versa? Setups are shared between teammates, but they're not going to go out of their way to give their prime competitor an advantage. Also, DC's contacts in the industry have resulted in bringing multiple people into the team.

I'll use an IRL example to illustrate what I'm trying to point out. On the Andretti-Green team, they have four drivers, one of them is Brian Herta. Herta is really variable in his performances and the worst perfoming of the four, but he's really good at developing setups and he is often the primary source of setups. AGR is an incredible powerhouse in the IRL and a big part of the reason they have him on the team is because his participation results in the other drivers having success. DC has been around for a long time and appears to be very good at doing the same thing. Setup can mean seconds a lap!

DC grew facial hair now that he's on Red Bull, surely that plays into their marketing scheme?

Dixie Flatline · 10 Apr 2005, 00:25 (Ref:1274343)

I saw the report on f1racing last night, IIRC (it was late).

I recall reading that DC himself hadn't heard what Mateschitz had said and he was going to find out what he could about it.

**GTRMagic** · 10 Apr 2005, 00:50 (Ref:1274349)

Why would DC be involved in knowing what he will be doing next year? Isnt that the driver's manager's job??

Mr Brundle... come on down

Redlake27 · 10 Apr 2005, 06:05 (Ref:1274407)

DC has done an excellent job this year, but a time will come when RBR have enough data on all three drivers to make an informed decision.

I think DC may find Liuzzi a tougher nut to crack than Klein, so this debate may grow throughout the season

naughtymutt · 10 Apr 2005, 06:55 (Ref:1274421)

i believe the best is yet to come this year for DC. Lets see what happens when they start to race on some the euro circuits where there isnt the extremes of Temp etc and where the teams have years of data.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Coulthard	smiddy972	Australasian Touring Cars.	14	12 Feb 2004 21:33
Future Tourer Future	Crash Test	Australasian Touring Cars.	13	17 Jul 2002 23:01
Hakkinen's Future Unclear	renaultbel	Formula One	23	10 May 2001 21:01
Coulthard!!!	Ross	Formula One	5	4 Apr 2001 00:34