David Coulthard recently opened up about one of the most intense and challenging weekends of his F1 career. This moment came at the 2000 French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, where he said some harsh words to Michael Schumacher during the race as he overtook him for the lead of the race.
Speaking on the Talking Bull podcast, Coulthard recalled how it wasn’t just his victory that was memorable. There was a lot of chaos that unfolded before and during the race as he faced significant issues right from Saturday’s qualifying session.
Coulthard’s McLaren gave up on him due to a technical issue as the qualifying began. Thus, he had to drive the spare car, which also broke down later. He then had to drive his teammate Mika Hakkinen’s car, meanwhile, the team fixed his car for Hakkinen to jump in.
Despite this car swap drama, the British driver managed to qualify second behind Schumacher, while his teammate qualified fourth. Now, the start of the race saw Schumacher cut across Coulthard, forcing him to lift off the throttle.
The former McLaren man said, “And then at the race start Michael cut across me and I had to lift, which allowed Rubens [Barrichello] to overtake me. I then had to fight to overtake Rubens, and then I had to catch Michael and fight to overtake him, give him the bird, tell him he’s a w*nker, and then continue on and win the Grand Prix.”
A French gesture from Coulthard against Schumacher at the 2000 French Grand Prix.
Coulthard started the race alongside Michael Schumacher, who lined up on pole. At lights out Barrichello starting on third passed Coulthard entering the first corner. Michael Schumacher retained… pic.twitter.com/c81U0hwcad
— Formula One History (@F1History1950) March 28, 2024
However, the 2000 season ultimately went in Schumacher’s favor as he had the last laugh by winning the world championship that year. As for his tussle with Coulthard, it wasn’t the first time the duo had an intense on-track incident.
When Schumacher and Coulthard collided at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1998 Belgian GP is famous for Schumacher’s angry charge at Coulthard in the pits after they collided in the middle stage of the race at Spa-Francorchamps, which started in treacherously wet conditions.
Coulthard had a spin at the start triggering a massive crash involving 12 of the 22 cars, which went down as one of the most chaotic starts in F1 history. After the race was restarted, Coulthard also collided with Alex Wurz, but Schumacher seemed set for an easy win.
However, things took a dramatic turn on lap 24 when Schumacher approached to lap Coulthard and the McLaren driver pulled off the racing line. But due to the heavy spray from the wet track, Schumacher couldn’t see clearly and ended up crashing into the back of Coulthard’s McLaren, breaking off the front right wheel, front wing, and nose of his Ferrari.
ITV discussing the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix and the confrontation between Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard for the coverage of the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/H6OFDnAFgA
— f1 clips (@f1clipshow) June 13, 2024
Both drivers had to retire from the race and then their intense confrontation in the pits unfolded. The German furiously stormed towards Coulthard’s garage while removing his helmet and balaclava. Team members had to intervene to prevent a physical brawl between the two as Coulthard was also standing his ground with his helmet and gear still on.
