How can you like Coulthard?

[neutral]

Everyone seems to be jumping on the DC bandwagon, and from what I saw in the last race I cant understand why? Heres a man saying that he wants to be WDC and at the same time lets his teammate walk all over him.

"When I didn't manage to get past him at the start I decided to look at the big picture, which is the Championship, and settle for second place."

The fact that there was nothing wrong with his car and he didnt even attempt to push Mika makes me sick. McLaren talk about team orders at Ferarri, well what do you call making a driver give up after lap one if they are not in the lead. I'm not asking DC to throw his car at Mika's, but just a bit of pressure please!! He says that he was looking at the bigger picture ie the championship. If this is the case then wouldnt it have been better to try pressure Hakk into a mistake or maybe attempt to pass in the pits. F1 can get boring as it is, let alone the fact that their are pussies driving F1 like DC, who apparently care more about keeping all the corporate junkies happy than their own WDC ambitions.
I would also like to comment on Mika's return to form. With this win he now has the possibility of winning three in a row. Given his attempts in the past two years this possibility also makes me sick.
They talk about Shui having it easy in Ferarri, then what about Mika's last race. He literally only had to lead the first corner and was guaranteed the race win.
I Would just like to finish off by saying that everything about McLaren make me sick!! Their continous whining, and lack of commitment between their drivers hurts the sport. F1 needs drivers with passion, willing to do whatever it takes to win a race.
Im going to finish off by congratulating Jaques for not considering Mclaren as an option. At least he is not willing to sell his fighting spirit to Ron Dennis.

[Minardi fan]

I have to agree - I was mightily disappointed to see DC make no effort at Austria. We THOUGHT we were starting to see what DC could really do... Unfortunately, I think we were wrong.

[Ralf's Girl]

No arguments from me on this topic! I've never really liked DC, ever since he gave up that win to Hakkinen in Australia 98. That was what made me think that he would never be champion. How can you be champion if you make silly agreements like that? And the way he gave up in Austria was, as you say, pathetic.

[Liz]

I think DC is a fine upstanding guy and I think he is doing his best to win the championship. It is not his fault that F1 has turned into a pale imitation of a video game on his watch.

I also think it is already settled that Ferrari are going to win it unless Michael breaks the other leg between now and the end of the season.

And finally, I would rather watch CART.

[Ralf's Girl]

He could break the same one again...
DC does do his best, but there's too much moaning and not enough racing.

[Liz]

I think you just summed up Modern F1 entirely: "Too Much Moaning and Not Enough Racing."

[Ralf's Girl]

I probably did. But Coulthard is the worst.

[fatbloke]

Maybe you should add that to the FAQ Liz ? Seems reasonable to me...

As for my opinion of DC - well, when he won at Silverstone, we were about as excited as we would have been had Rubens or another non-Brit had of one. It was like, oh DC won, is it time to go home now ? However, since the plane crash, we took to cheering him on - probably because we admired the way he got over that and got on with the program. It is great to see him pull some amazing moves on the track too. And to have any Brit up there challenging for the title is good - look how many people jumped on the Irvine bandwagon last year (incidently i've always liked Eddie since the 'Senna incident!')

Go DC!

[AL Racing]

I agree with you entirely neutral, and I would like to add
that Ron keeps saying that McLaren never use teamorders but the fact is that we never see a fight with between the Mac cars after the first corner. After the first corner, the one ahead stays that way, I'm sure their un-official policy is. And that way it's not really teamorders. We have seen it several time, more notibly the last race, but also in Spa last year. That sneaky slimy Ron is annoying, and I would love to see his face when Schumacher wins the Championship.

[Jay]

The problem is not DC, he is still one of the best there is in F1. The problem is McLaren.

Throughout the entire race both drivers were given a "slow" message on their pit boards because of reliability(engine I think) concerns. DC obeyed, Mika didn't.

Give him a break. I still think he has a better chance this year than Mika. If he wins the WC I will post a big "I told you so" topic. As I think I am one of about 3 people here that have always thought he had any talent at all.

[Valve Bounce]

I must say you guys really have it in for DC. Though not my favourite driver, I have to be fair. DC started with a slightly heavier fuel load than Mika, so that he could stay out longer to put in those hot laps when MS would be in the pits, so that he can get ahead of the Ferrari. OK, so MS fouled out!! Had he managed to get in front of Mika at the start, there was no way Mika could have passed him, as there is very little between the two cars. As it as, DC guessed the start spot on - I watched it on freeze frame, and he started to move just as the red lights started to dim; there was no perception and reaction time. Had he moved a couple of hundredths earlier, he would have received a ten second penalty. Last but not least, remember the two Prosts racing against each other?? Not very smart was it?? What I want to say is - if you don't like DC, that's fine. Just cheer for Jacques.

[Mr.S]

Almost every one here seems to hate DC! I At one point considered him the villiage idiot of F1, but he impressed me and I like him now, (I think that it was the way he showed Shumacher what he felt like in France). The problem with him is that he is too nice, and a real sportsman, he follows the rules and that costs him.

[EERO]

Well, I'll make no apologies, I've always admired him. I think he's a genuinely decent, fair and polite guy. I think he is a good driver as well, not "great", but good.
He can be cautious at times , but I honestly believe that his strategy of caution in Austria was the correct one. He is still Closer to Schuey than Hakinnen is; he has been more consistent over the season-aggressive pursuit of Mika was not worth the risk.

If anything, I think his steadfast qualities which everyone noticed in the wake of the Plane crash havve always been there-it was just a matter of paying attention to him when he spoke. As for gifting Mika the win at Melbourne in 1998-we would have respected him a lot less if he had not pulled over-Recall how frequently Pironi is pilloried by fans of Gilles Villeneuve on this Forum.


And I join fatbloke and Jay in saying, GO DC!!!

[robk1982]

David did the right thing. He needs to be consistent to win the drviers championship, getting greedy and ending up against a wall isn't going to help him. He needs to get points in every round, not necesarily win at all cost.

[Crash Test]

I agree with Mr Bloke. He's probably not my favourite driver, but he deserves a fair bit of admiration for screwing his head on again after the plane crash...

[Ralf's Girl]

In Austria when they were given the 'slow' message, Mika kept pushing because he was obviously trying to prove a point to all those who said he's past it and he can't win the championship. Mika is definitely still in the running, and if he wins in Germany, he moves ahead of DC. I admire DC's strength after the plane crash, but I don't think that makes him the champion some people are saying he is.

[KC]

Funny how fate turns on the perception one gets. I ghave supported DC since his first drive for Williams. ANyone who can survive that crucible deserves some respect. Ever since MH picked up the mantle for McLaren he has not performed up to snuff, until this season. I have problem admitting that. His drives at Silverstone and Magny Cours were excellent and showed that he had his car spot on and drove it the same way. He had very little reason to expect MH to pull out the demonstration run he did in Austria after the Finn's performances to date and drove a smart and shrewd tactical race, expecially after MS went out.

I have no doubt that the same who decry him as beneath their contempt would be crying about how stupid he was had he and MH gone off in some heated battle or just crashed out while pushing for no reason ala Damon Hill.

[Schume]

I've never really taken much notice or interest in DC until this season. Ok, so last season he was chalking up some points and giving us some fun by beating MH or nudging him off the track.
This season, I thought good drive in Brazil, "top bloke" after his plane crash episode, etc etc. But then not too long after we have "the finger", loads of moaning about everything, settling for second after seeing the "big picture" etc etc.
Now we have him in Giant Cube Vision staring at us from the cover of F1 Racing, with even worse pictures inside. "Bring Him On" he's proclaiming, like it's some Roman battle.

Maybe we've got to a point where he believes the garbage the media writes about him. Over hyped and overated I think.

[fatbloke]

hmmm... just like the rest of these imposters ? Whatever happened to the real racers ?!

[Minardi fan]

He's down the other end of the grid in a blue car.

[elan95]

I think DC just played it safe. Pushing Mika to
the limit in Austria wouldn't do any good to the team.
Surely, Mika would push harder. They might as well
end up in the gravel. Bad for team. Well, I am not
pro MacLaren but RB is always the worse in this
situation.

[Valve Bounce]

I am glad that we have finally heard from the DC fans. I believe in being fair. Now what I would like to elicit, at this point, is a comment from Neutral who posted this thread and to ask him what would have been served if DC had pushed and tried to race against Mika. What would DC have achieved, and what may have resulted if they both touched wheels. Why does DC looking at the big picture make him sick? Did Nuetral want DC to take Mika out on the second lap?
I would also like to comment on the team orders posted by McLaren for both cars to ease up on the revs. This is a bit different from Ferrari telling Eddie to move over and to let MS pass.
I know that DC does carry on in public about the other guy being unfair. Well, I think Nigel used to whine and moan a helluva lot more. But, I admired Nigel's driving. Pity that bloody tyre blew at Adelaide - he certainly is a double champion in my books. And I thing Frank was crazy for letting him go. There would have been another two championships coming from Nigel.