Former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes 2011 Formula 1 season is going to be tough
Former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes that the 2011 Formula 1 season is going to be very tough as McLaren and Red Bull Racing Team are already on level terms in terms of pace.
During an event in Singapore from the street of Ion Orchard to Mandarin Gallery, Coulthard drove the Red Bull Racing showcar at an event sponsored by beverage company.
He drove on an 800-meter long track with short sprints and entertained the crowd with manoeuvres like burnouts, doughnuts and drifts for around 20 minutes.
David Coulthard retired from Formula 1 back in 2008 after he driving for Red Bull Racing Team for four years. Before that, he raced for McLaren and Williams from 1994 to 2004.
However, the 40-year-old was highly impressed by Lewis Hamilton’s run at the Chinese Grand Prix and believes that the 2011 Formula 1 season was never a “one horse race.”
“It never is (a one-horse race). No one ever wins all the Grands Prix, and the championship last year was incredible as it went down to the last race. Whether it will happen this year, I don't know but I think Hamilton's win in Shanghai was one of the best
victories that I remember seeing for some time because he had to pass his team-mate and came close to touching Jenson Button (McLaren),” said Coulthard.
David’s best season in the sport was the 2001 Formula 1 season when he finished in second place in the drivers’ standings behind Michael Schumacher.
Coulthard finished 13 races out of 15 that year and gave an extraordinary performance. However, his career deteriorated after that as he was unable to perform at his best. The British driver is currently driving in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) racing
series for Mercedes.
Nevertheless, he believes that the Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is going to have a tough time in 2011 as Hamilton and Jenson Button are chasing him in the standings. At the moment, Lewis Hamilton is just 21 points behind Vettel in the standings.
“You know, we get blase in life about watching these sort of things but it takes real commitment and skill. It will be a close season, which is great for the sport,” he said.
Even though Vettel has dominated the first two races and scored his third consecutive pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix, it is believed that the reigning world champion is not going to dominate the 2011 season as McLaren are improving very rapidly.
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