Comparing drivers from different eras is never easy, and David Coulthard recently proved that when he couldn’t see himself in any of the current stars on the F1 grid.
Although he never won a World Championship, Coulthard was a very solid driver, and a huge asset to the teams he had driven for in F1 (McLaren, Williams, and Red Bull). He won 13 races, had 62 podium finishes to his name, and also developed the reputation of being a handy qualifier. The Briton had 12 pole positions, which doesn’t truly reflect that.
On the Drive to Wynn podcast, host Justin Bell asked Coulthard which driver reminded him the most of his own style, and he immediately started stuttering. “Good one, I think they’re all better,” Coulthard smartly responded. “The next generation should always be better.”
One driver Coulthard mentioned, however, was Jenson Button, winner of the 2009 Drivers’ Championship. “Jenson, when we were racing together, I thought we had very similar driving styles…”
David Coulthard gained the first of his two Monaco Grand Prix wins #OnThisDay in 2000 – from third on the grid, just like Sergio Perez last weekend! #F1 pic.twitter.com/LXGTwu7mkX
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) June 4, 2022
Button retired in 2016, which means that since then, there hasn’t been anyone like him in F1, per Coulthard. But going by what he stated, he surely thinks that the ones today are much better than he was.
At the same time, Coulthard admitted to being unsure of the skills of F1 stars today because of how protected they are. “They’re all wrapped up in carbon fiber, and halos. It’s quite difficult to see what they’re doing in the cockpit,” he concluded.
By saying this, Coulthard likely suggested that drivers in his own era, were easier to judge, because the cars were more open — which was admittedly dangerous.
