Rediscover Formula One » David Coulthard

David Coulthard lights Mumbai’s roads on fire !

Formula One Addict — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:38:00 +0000

It was a spectacle any formula one fan would have died to see. David Coulthard scorched across the newly constructed architectural marvel that is the Bandra Worli sea link in a Red Bull formula one car in 3 minutes flat. Normally a car would take around 70 minutes according to the prescribed speed limit. Take a look at the video below, our International readers will also enjoy the beautiful city that is Mumbai (earlier known as Bombay). Also have a look at all the dry ice cooling the brakes.

^{October 11, 2009 will always be remembered as the day Mumbai had its first tryst with F1}^.^{The spirit of this dynamic city was celebrated on the marvellous Rajiv Gandhi Sea}^{Link as Red Bull R}^acing^Pilot^{David Coulthard zoomed down the}^{Rajiv Gand}^h^{i Sea Link in his}^{Red Bull Racing}^{F1 car.}

^{The Sunday afternoon heat did not deter the enthusiasm & passion of}^{the Mumbaikars}^{as they made their way to}^{Bandra Reclamation}^{to view this historic event. The}^energy^{was high, something you would experience before the start of any Formula 1 race.}^{Dressed in the trademark Red Bull Racing}^Pilot^{Jumpsuit, David Coulthard walked out to his magnificent Red Bull}^Racing^{F1 car to do what he came to Mumbai}^{for – give Mumbai its first taste of F1 by driving}^{down the Sea Link.}^{Special C}^{hief Guest for the event,}^Commissio^{ner of Mumbai Police,}^{D. Sivanandan}^{wished David the very best for the event and flagged off the Red Bull Racing F1 Car.}

^{The unmistakable smell of rubber filled the air as the speed machine screeched leaving}^{its wake on}^the^{Sea L}^ink^,^{its first set of}^virgin^t^y^{re marks. The next few moments}^{left Mumbai truly mesmerized, as}^they^{watched in awe}^{as a blur of blue, yellow & red swiftly yet gracefully flowed on the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link.}

^{To add to the}^{Formula 1 rush}^,^David^{skillfully performed some}^{‘killer – every young racers fantasy’ 360 degree wheel spins}^{on the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link}^,^{a thrill that people}^have^{never got}^ten^{to experience before.}^David^also^{blasted down}^his^{car into full view of the fans}^{at the Bandra – Reclamation and entertained them with some trademark wheel spins & moves, displaying his enviable skills as a driver & the awesome power of the car. You could almost hear the people egging for more as David headed back to the paddock.}

^{Much to the delight of the people, David returned sans F1 car waving to the crowd, thanking Mumbai for their presence and}^to^{show his appreciation for their support.}

^Commenting^on^{his first experience with F1 in}^India^,^David^{said, “}^{This afternoon has been simply amazing. To be part of Red Bull}^Racⁱ^{ng Team}^{and Mumbai’s first ever F1 showcase event ever has made this an incredible memory to cherish. When I look back on this I can take pride in the fact that I was part of the first Formula 1 team to experience the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link in a Formula 1 car. Mumbai is such a vibrant city and its simply captivated me despite my short stay. I couldn’t have thought of a better city & place to do this event.}^Thanks^{to Mumbai and its people!}^”

Red Bull Formula One Team all set to give Mumbai Wings

Formula One Addict — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:30:11 +0000

Good news for Mumbai based formula one fans. The Red Bull formula one team is going to be in town along-with Scottish driver David Coulthard. David will drive his formula one car on the newly opened Bandra Worli sea link. Since I am in Delhi, will miss this opportunity, but you definitely shouldn’t.

Press Release Below :

Mumbai, 30^th September, 2009: Mumbai is set to experience the world of Formula One next month, when it hosts Red Bull Speed Link, the first ever Formula One showcase in India. Celebrating the recently opened Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the spirit of Mumbaikars, Red Bull Speed Link will allow Mumbai to witness an energy charge like never before.

The countdown has started and the stage is set for the event of the year – Red Bull Speed Link. Formula One Driver David Coulthard will race a Red Bull Racing F1 Car down the MSRDC Rajiv Gandhi Bandra – Worli Sea Link, at 2pm on October 11^th, 2009.

Red Bull Energy Drink, known worldwide for its association with extreme sports and a growing presence in F1, is bringing its impressive F1 racing car to Mumbai. Red Bull has scheduled an impressive five day line up of events – from a technical assembly of the car, to the firing up of its engine, to showcasing the car around town – in order to bring the glitz and glamour of Formula One to the fans, the Red Bull way. The high point of the activities will be when Red Bull Driver David Coulthard speeds across the Bandra – Worli Sea Link at 320KPH – maybe even doing a few heart-stopping 360 degree spins! As David Coulthard accelerates his Red Bull Racing car down the superbly engineered road, of which Mumbai is so proud, Red Bull will set pulses racing – it will be a thrill, not only for the F1 fans in the city, but also for the thousands of energetic Mumbaikars.

Expressing his excitement about his forthcoming visit and F1 drive, David Coulthard said, “I am delighted to be coming to India and I’m looking forward to showing you what the Red Bull Racing Formula One team can do. Red Bull is all about high energy and precision performance. The Sea-Link is going to be challenging and exciting course to drive down on and I’m looking forward to Red Bull Racing giving the city of Mumbai an F1 show like they have never seen before.”

Roads and bridges are arteries of a nation as they obliterate distances and connect people while encouraging economic progress. The Rajiv Gandhi (Bandra-Worli) Sea Link will now join a unique list of international landmarks around the globe that Red Bull Racing have used as platforms to perform innovative F1 Show Runs in order to bring F1 to the fans.

Don’t miss the excitement when Man and Machine tackle it down the arc of Mumbai.

Schedule:

October 7^th, 11 am – Assembly of Red Bull Racing Car – J W Marriott, Mumbai

October 8^th – Showcasing of Red Bull Racing Car – Inorbit Mall, Malad, Mumbai

October 9^th – Showcasing of Red Bull Racing Car – Nirmal Lifestyle, Mulund, Mumbai

October 10^th, 12 noon – Engine Fire Up of the Red Bull Racing Car – Paddock, Before Toll Plaza of Bandra – Worli Sealink, Bandra, Mumbai

October 10^th, 9 pm – Red Bull Speed Link F1 Party, Enigma, JW Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai

October 11^th, 2 pm – Red Bull Speed Link Show Run – Paddock, Before Toll Plaza of Bandra – Worli Sealink, Bandra, Mumbai

Lewis Hamilton one step closer to title, wins in China

Formula One Addict — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:19:03 +0000

Lewis Hamilton came one step closer to winning his maiden formula one driver’s title by winning the 2008 formula one Chinese Grand Prix from pole. His closest competitor Felipe Massa was second in his Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton was fast from the start pulling away easily and making the Ferraris look gasping for pace. What is interesting though is that Kimi Raikkonen had slowed down to let Felipe Massa through much like a lot of the other formula one teams do within their teams. So when are team orders prohibited ? It did affect the outcome of the race. The swap reduced the damage to the Massa championship campaign but may just prove to be futile in the last race.

Fernando Alonso put in another strong(er?) performance to get a 4th place finish. The BMWs were 5th and 6th with Heidfeld finishing ahead of Robert Kubica this time.

The Red Bull of David Coulthard was 10th while teammate Mark WEbber was way back in 14th place.

Force India were as dismal as ever with Adrian Sutil not finishing the race and Fisichella finishing in 17th place (last).

The top 8 drivers were :

1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2 F. Massa      Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
3 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
4 F. Alonso    ING Renault F1 Team
5 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team
6 R. Kubica    BMW Sauber F1 Team
7 T. Glock      Panasonic Toyota Racing
8 N. Piquet Jr. ING Renault F1 Team

So the title fight goes down to Brazil now, stay tuned for a post on that

Image: McLaren.com Media

Felipe Massa takes first pole under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix

Formula One Addict — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:05:51 +0000

Its an evening Felipe Massa shall never forget, the ambience was set, the lights were on and the Brazilian was in peak form. Felipe Massa steered his Ferrari F2008 in 1:44.801s, Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren was second on 1:45.465s ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who clocked 1:45.617s. Its suspected that Felipe Massa is on a lighter fuel load than Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.

Sebastien Vettel seems to be taking his new found confident forward, he got 7th place in his Torro Rosso. Force India were very disappointing with both the cars bringing up the extreme rear. Here are the top 10 positions of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix :

2008 Singapore Grand Prix start positions :

1 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1min 44.801secs
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:45.465
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:45.617

4 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:45.779
5 H Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:45.873
6 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:45.964
7 S Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:46.244
8 T Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:46.328
9 N Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:46.611
10 K Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:47.547

2nd Photo Copyright : SpA Ferrari, Written Post is a copyright of http://F1chronicles.com

Felipe Massa wins the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton penalised

Formula One Addict — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:17:45 +0000

In what will come as a shocker to McLaren fans, Lewis Hamilton has been penalised for passing Kimi Raikkonen by passing a chicane by cutting it. It essentially places Lewis Hamilton at third place. The McLaren fans were shocked by the decision as it came after the race and celebrations.

Lewis Hamilton was penalised 25 seconds, a drive through penalty actually. The time was added to his time later on.

Kimi Raikkonen had led most of the race, but Lewis Hamilton in a controversial move cut across a chicane to overtake him. The move cost Lewis Hamilton dearly, Kimi Raikkonen while trying to pass Lewis Hamilton spun and went out of the race. But Felipe Massa was the ultimate gainer when Lewis Hamilton was penalised.

Now Lewis Hamilton leads Felipe Massa by only 2 points. Kimi Raikkonen on the other hand lost out on his great run at the Spa track in what would have been his 4th win although for different teams.

In the constructor’s championship , Ferrari lead McLaren by 12 points, McLaren is on 119, while Ferrari is on 131.

Nick Heidfeld who was being criticised a lot, was promoted to second place with Hamilton’s disqualification.

New Classification after Lewis Hamilton’s drive through penalty at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix :

Pos Driver Team

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari

2. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber

3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes

4. Fernando Alonso Renault

5. Sebastien Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari

6. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber

7. Antonio Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari

8. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault

9. Timo Glock Toyota

10. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes

11. David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault

12. Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota

13. Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari

14. Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota

15. Jenson Button Honda 16. Jarno Trulli Toyota

17. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari

18. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari

Fastest lap of the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix: Kimi Raikkonen, 1:47.930

Image copyright : Ferrari Media

Red Bull 4th Sector : Hardcore fans search for David Coulthard

Formula One Addict — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:22:38 +0000

Thanks to the commentator on our previous post for this tipoff, this video shows 2 fans of Redbull racing and David Coulthard searching for the Scott just before his last British Grand Prix at Silverstone. David Coulthard talks about the Silverstone track.

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This is the first video from Red Bull Racing’s 4TH Sector. Two hardcore fans track down David Coulthard on the eve of Silverstone’s 60th anniversary and shine a light on his experiences at the circuit. Bizarrely, the interview takes place at a campsite right next to the track just days before his last race at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton wins maiden home British Grand Prix

Formula One Addict — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:04:02 +0000

It was an eventful race, and in the end Brit Lewis Hamilton emerged victorious to claim the golden trophy. A series of goof-ups by Ferrari in terms of tyres were enough to ruin Kimi’s race. Lewis was ecstatic after the race calling it his best win in terms of the race being the toughest for him to snatch.

He thanked his family after the race:

“I want to dedicate this to my family because as you can see I’ve had some troubles over the last couple of weeks and it’s been really tough,” Hamilton said.

“But as always your family are there when you need them.”

“The last couple of weeks I’ve been flat out with working very hard, just a lot of travelling, many different things and different emotions building,” he said.
“I’ve had a couple of bad races, and coming here it would have been nice to get some points and maybe a win. I thought a one-two would be possible.
“My mind’s always been right , I just had a lot on my plate, really. It’s nothing too serious, just life in general.

“Some of my personal life, working very hard. Just before the race I spoke to my brother and said I just hope I keep it on the track, and he said don’t worry about that, you’re a master in the wet. That was great to hear that.”

BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld came second, while Rubens Barrichello was a surprise third in his Honda. Kimi Raikkonen was 4th after a tyre blunder by Ferrari. Our pole position man Heiki Kovalainen was 5th.

2008 FIA Formula one British Grand Prix, Silverstone

1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:39:09.440
2. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber +01:08.577
3. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 01:22.273
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1 lap
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1 lap
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1 lap
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1 lap
8. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams – Toyota 1 lap
9. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams – Toyota 1 lap
10. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull – Renault 1 lap
11. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso – Ferrari 1 lap
12. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1 lap
13. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 2 laps

R Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 21 laps
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda 21 laps
R Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 24 laps
R Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India – Ferrari 33 laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India – Ferrari 50 laps
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso – Ferrari Spin
R David Coulthard (GB) RedBull – Renault Spin

Fastest Lap of race : Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari 1:32.150, lap 18.

Heiki Kovalainen takes pole, Webber second at British Grand Prix

Formula One Addict — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:36:56 +0000

It was a day of surprises at the Silverstone, Heiki Kovalainen took pole position at the Silverstone track, while Mark Webber took a surprising second place. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third in his scarlet Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton could only manage a dismal 4th place and was almost 8/10 of a second slower than the pole position man Heiki Kovalainen.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was unlucky as Ferrari were unable to send him out for another run when there was a problem changing one of his tyres.

Kovalainen was very excited with his maiden pole, he said

“It’s not going to be easy tomorrow, but my pace has been good all week, and I am confident our strategy will be a strong one as well. The target is to win the Grand Prix.
“It was quite difficult conditions. At the start of the final session, the wind picked up and I was all over the place. But it went much better on the second run.”

The difference in times of Webber and Coulthard seems to suggest a lighter fuel load for the top 2 cars on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen was also pleased with his time after the Friday practice session yesterday:

“Compared to yesterday it has been much better”
“Yesterday was very difficult, we have put in quite a lot of effort to try to sort my car out.
“We are not exactly where we want to be, but qualifying has never been my strongest point, and nobody knows how much fuel everyone is running.” Kimi Raikkonen said

Force India F1 team had another disappointing session, Vijay Mallya’s outfit again brought up the back of the grid with Adrian Sutil outshining teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. Their so called ‘new aerodynamic package’ seems to be a big flop.

Qualifying Times for the formula one British Grand Prix 2008

1. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.049 seconds
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:21.554
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21.706
4. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.835
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.873
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:22.029
7. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:22.491
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.251
9. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:23.305
10. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber no time
11. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.174
12. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.274
13. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.531
14. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.601
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:21.112
16. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:21.512
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.631
18. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:21.668
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786
20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885

Image Copyright : Ferrari Media

Felipe Massa wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2008

Formula One Addict — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:40:22 +0000

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa silenced a lot of voices today at Bahrain by running an almost perfect race to clinch the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was second. Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points and lost the championship lead due to it. The Pole on pole Robert Kubica was third for the BMW team.

Nick Heidfeld claimed a calm fourth place behind teammate Robert Kubica. Young Heikki Kovalainen got� McLaren F1 fifth place.

An interesting point in the race was when Lewis Hamilton ran into the back of Fernando Alonso, it made him pit and eventually this resulted in him being out of points. Some people say Fernando brake tested Lewis Hamilton, but i really dont think it was anything like that. I have seen the videos again and again and they look highly inconclusive. Later on Lewis Hamilton was apologetic to the McLaren F1 team :

“I am really disappointed and feel like I had let the team down”

“You need to pick up the pieces and then deliver points. I didn’t do that. The collision with Renault’s Fernando Alonso cost the race.” Lewis Hamilton said

Meanwhile my best moment of the race was when Force India formula one’s Giancarlo Fisichella held back Lewis Hamilton for 3 laps, closing the door on Lewis countless times. The Force India car does show a lot of promise and hopefully they will be getting some points this season. Giancarlo eventually finished 12th. The final classification was :

Race result of the formula one Bahrain Grand Prix 2008

1 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 6.970 seconds
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari +3.339 secs
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +4.998
4 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +8.409
5 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +26.789
6 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +41.314
7 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +45.473
8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +55.889
9 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota +1:09.500
10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +1:17.181
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda +1:17.862
12 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari one lap behind
13 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one lap
14 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota one lap
15 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari one lap
16 Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda one lap
17 Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda one lap
18 David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault one lap
19 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari two laps
R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 40 laps completed
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda 19 laps
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps

Robert Kubica gets maiden pole at Bahrain

Formula One Addict — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:57:37 +0000

This is a race he will remember forever, the Bahrain Grand Prix 2008. Robert Kubica got his first ever pole position breaking Ferrari’s hopes of dominance in the middle eastern circuit. Felipe Massa was second while Lewis Hamilton came third. Massa’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth. It was an impressive fightback from the young Brit Lewis Hamilton who had crashed severely on Friday. His car was completely totalled and the McLaren engineers did a fine job of putting it back together.

Force India showed some guts on the track today but still couldnt qualify for the second qualifying session. Fisichella again clocked faster than Adrian Sutil by .3 of a second.

It promises to be a great race tomorrow with three teams fighting it out, but what has surprised me the most is Kubica’s dominance over teammate Nick Heidfeld who was drawing all the praise last year for being Mr.Consistent.

The qualifying positions were

1. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1 min 33.096
2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:33.123
3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:33.292
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:33.418
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:33.488
6. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:33.737
7. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:33.994
8. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams – Toyota 1:34.015
9. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:35.057
10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:35.115
11. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull – Renault 1:32.371
12. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:32.508
13. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:32.528
14. Nelsinho Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:32.790
15. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso – Ferrari 1:32.915
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams – Toyota 1:32.943
17. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull – Renault 1:33.433
18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India – Ferrari 1:33.501
19. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso – Ferrari 1:33.562
20. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India – Ferrari 1:33.845
21. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri – Honda 1:34.140
22. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri – Honda 1:35.725