The rise of Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull is often credited to his stellar showing in 2008 at Toro Rosso (now RB). However, the German prodigy’s potential was still in doubt by the top brass at Milton Keynes. Despite knowing the risk of giving a younger driver an opportunity after tweaking his neck during a test, David Coulthard was the one who insisted that Vettel replace him in the RB4.
When quizzed about his rationale for making such a bold decision, Coulthard said on The Red Flags podcast, “I just felt it was part of my role as coming towards the end of my career to help the team get confirmation of where their future lay. And I think that’s why I’ve maintained a good relationship with Red Bull”.
He added that he was also the one who called Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and told him to give Vettel the chance as he felt “there’s no point in the car sitting there”. Coulthard doesn’t regret his decision to give Vettel the chance as he believes by doing so, he “wasn’t forced out the door” at Red Bull and left F1 on his own terms.
Vettel, who was raring to go after winning the Italian GP with Toro Rosso, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With him impressing during his test for Red Bull, the team signed him in 2009 by replacing the retired Coulthard.
sebastian vettel, red bull racing
abu dhabi grand prix, 2010
win no. 10 wdc no. 1“you just wait sunshine, you just wait” pic.twitter.com/qjySvg8GiO
— meike (@vroomvettel) August 6, 2021
The German former driver barely took any time to hit the ground running as he finished second in his first season with Red Bull Racing before going on to win four consecutive titles with them from 2010 to 2013. Coulthard revealed on the same podcast that Red Bull’s instant success after Vettel joined them did not come as a surprise to him.
Coulthard was laughed back in 2010 for his bold Red Bull prediction
On the same podcast, the hosts asked Coulthard how it felt to realize that his audacious prediction of Vettel winning the championship in only his second Red Bull season came true, having been mocked by some of his fellow experts back then. Coulthard replied,
“I believed cause Adrian had been there; I saw the evolution of the team. Sebastian and Mark Webber were teammates at the time; both were very fast drivers…I just felt that they were the coming team and I don’t make bold predictions very often, but in that case, I was obviously against what everyone else thought and what can I say I was right”.
Red Bull’s instant success indeed came as a surprise to many as it is rarely the case that a new team makes such an impact in such a short time. However, with a talented driver like Vettel and one of the best aerodynamicists of all time in Newey joining forces, they achieved the unthinkable and dominated the sport for four seasons between 2010 and 2013.
