got this from planet f1. some interesting ideas pro and against coulthard.
David Coulthard: Too Nice A Guy
09/07/03
Is David Coulthard's career at McLaren over? If so, who should replace him? The best of your mails on DC are right here...
David Coulthard: Too Nice For His Own Good
David Coulthard never was much more than a good test driver. If it would not have been for the death of Ayrton Senna, Coulthard would never have seen the green light at a GP. He is a good driver - by himself on the track and nobody breathing down his neck - but he is only a mediocre F1 race driver.
McLaren will certainly not retain his services for next year or beyond.
The only future David has in F1 is as a test driver for one of the top teams, or as a driver-with-a-name that might get some extra sponsorship money for one of the last place teams.
David Coulthard is a true gentleman and seems to be an honourable chap, but that does not win races or championships, and in the end, that is what it's all about.
Ronald Trochelmann, Roswell, Georgia
...I don't know David Coulthard personally, but from what I have seen on television, he seems to be a nice guy. It could be that he is too nice for his own good.
I believe the deciding moment in his career came when he handed Mika Hakkinen the Finn's first win in 1997. At that time, Hakkinen seemed to be the one with bad luck, and DC had already won two races that year. Tough luck for Mika. But that first gifted win to Hakkinen (from Coulthard) broke the ice for the Finn, who went on to win eight races the following year, and take two championships.
Why didn't DC take the win for himself?
And the reality is also that it doesn't pay to be a nice guy in F1. It didn't help Mika Salo to stay behind Eddie Irvine at Hockenheim when he stood in for the injured Schumacher. Salo should have ignored the contract and gone on to take the win for himself in that Ferrari. By agreeing to let Irvine by, he effectively wrecked his own career. And by agreeing to play second fiddle indefinitely, Barrichello is doing the same thing to himself right now, and has been letting himself down for quite some time now.
Why be in F1 at all, if you're not going for the crown?
The will to really go for the ultimate goal is the difference between Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, and to a lesser extent, and in another form, between Hakkinen and Coulthard.
As for DC - well, I see him as in some ways belonging to another realm of motorsport. He comes from the era of the "gentleman racer". There's nothing wrong with that - it's just that he may not be 100% compatible with today’s F1.
Magnus Rubensson, Sweden
Time For Coulthard To Move On
I too believe that David Coulthard's tenure at McLaren-Mercedes should come to an end this season, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be a suitable replacement for the long-term. The team have excellent development drivers in Wurz and de la Rosa, but what they really need is a pure racer - someone, like Kimi, who isn't afraid to go wheel-to-wheel with Michael, Montoya, or anybody else.
Heidfeld would certainly be the likely choice to replace Coulthard, considering his past experience with the team, nationality, and present knowledge of Ferrari horsepower. That would then open the door for Massa to return to Sauber for a year until he inevitably replaces Rubens at Ferrari, and David could well land a seat at the much-improved Jaguar squad since Pizzonia has still unimpressed so far this season.
I think the whole team are tired of kicking David in the pants for motivation. It is time for someone new to enjoy the "privilege" of driving for a top team in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Tory Robinson
...A drive with McLaren is not something of a right. They are a great team, esp going by their races-to-win ratios. I am surprised that Ron and Martin have put up with a driver like Coulthard for as long as they have.
Yes, he has been unlucky, but has he ever attempted any daring manoeuvre? The only race I seem to recall is Monaco last year, and that, not for any brilliant move, but his way of fending off Schumacher to the flag.
But the frequency of such drives has been remote. I do believe that anyone else, like Hill, Villeneuve, Fisichella and possibly Trulli and Heidfeld would do a better job than him. He is good but not good enough. There are younger and better drivers. He has been a gentleman throughout his career for which I applaud him, but, otherwise I would not be sad to see him go.
Vivek
...There is no doubt that Coulthard is a very good driver; fast and analytical; however, this is the major league. The whole essence of F1, is comparing of drivers, drivers and cars, and teams. A driver of Coulthard's calibre, in one of the front running teams, should be producing better results.
A mechanical failure here or a lousy pit stop there wouldn't look so bad if (when these didn't occur), there were real results to fall back on. There aren't; there haven't been, and there is little indication that there will be.
I will be very surprised if Coulthard is still at McLaren at the end of the season.
John Workman
...Regarding Pete Gill's comments on David Coulthard. He is correct in believing that the Scotsman is never going to be crowned world champion. However, he should never have thought there was ever a chance of him fulfilling the task in the first place.
Coulthard has not got what it takes, he's a good points scorer, a good second driver but that is all. A world champion he is not. He simply isn't talented enough and lacks the ruthlessness required.
Mika Hakkinen showed him the way home on many occassions and now Kimi Raikkonen is just showing him up for the average driver that he is.
Every year before the new season gets under way we hear DC spout the same old garbage about this being his year, 'I can still be champion'. Face it David, you're not good enough and you never have been - you only have to remember an embarrassing encounter with the pitlane wall to work that out! I'm only surprised Ron's put up with him for as long as he has.
Alison Keogh, London
Keep Him As A Test Driver, Though
David is just an average driver. Average in the sense that (as the article says) he never really seriously challenged for the championship title. McLaren need to look at a guy like Alonso, or even bring Wurz to the fore, and put David into testing. Being analytic is for test drivers, and he would be excellent in that department.
Edmund Neethling
Here’s One Reason For Keeping Coulthard - There’s Nothing Else Worth Buying
I for one belong to that bunch that believe that he should stay for one more season. Why?
David has a many great qualities, perhaps not during qualifying but definitely during racing. He is the type of driver that always performs well in races and however low he starts his race from he will manage to salvage at least a couple of points, if not amaze everyone with a victory or podium starting from down the grid (see Australia).
Furthermore, in PR he is unbeatable, certainly compared to Raikkonen who can barely master both his English and Finnish while being interviewed. He is loved by all his sponsors and brings a lot of money and good reputation to McLaren.
But even if he was to be replaced, who would McLaren be able to get at this point? Alonso and Jarno are likely to stay put, Rubens is an inferior substitute, Heidfeld could be a possibility but I'm not sure he would deliver the goods, and Ralf and Montoya seem to have a stable position over there at Williams. Webber has contracted until 2005, and the rest of the bunch don't even come close to what Ron wants as a driver.
I guess it all comes down as to what role McLaren will want its new driver to have. If it is a supportive role to Raikkonen then Coulthard can fit that role, whether he likes it or not, since his performances have been miserable. We're not talking team orders.
If McLaren want another champion contender then Coulthard is not the one, yet on the other hand there's nothing out there on sale worth buying at the moment.
As a quick substitute for next year, if Coulthard does go, Heidfeld would appear to be the best option, especially since there's speculation that he will dumped by Sauber anyhow to free space for Massa. He would also be free, since he is under contract for three more years with the Woking team.
However, between Coulthard and Heidfeld, I would say stick with the devil that you know....
Costas Xitas
In The Defence Of David Coulthard...
After all his loyalty to McLaren he deserves the chance to figure this particular problem out.
Let's not forget his McLaren career in the Hakkinen days. Despite the 'joint number one' status they were supposed to hold, McLaren seemed about as interested in him as Bernie in Silverstone.
The team was run to support Mika and in return he delivered two championships. David was number two in all-but name during that period, but when Mika faltered in 2001 David took the fight to Michael as hard as he knew how in an underpowered, unreliable car. Had McLaren got its launch control right that year (like all the others managed to do) 2001 may have been a different story.
Last year was a rebuilding year at McLaren, and it was up to David to make sure the team now realised not only Finns can win races. But unfortunately 2001-2002 were the years Michael Schumacher's big red war machine finally did what everyone knew it could (should?) be doing, showing everyone the way.
This year has been bad for David, but as you rightly pointed out had it not been for the big bingle in Brazil, or the Three Pointed Star missing the point in Malaysia, David would be very much in the hunt right now. Add those lost 20 points to his total, minus what Raikkonen gained as a result - who's McLaren's main man now? Quite close isn't it?
The fact that David is struggling with qualifying is a problem, but it's not without remedy. Plus replacing him is not just a simple matter of unplugging David and plugging in say, Heidfeld. It will take time for the new guy to learn how the team works and to cope with the pressure of being always under scrutiny. You can't hide at the front like you can in
the mid-field.
With David you have a guy who delivers, as his career points total proves. He can handle pressure, he is intimidated by no-one, he works well with the team and he is among the finest wheel to wheel racers in the business. Yes qualifying is a problem but yes, David will fix it.
Edward Foster