David Coulthard opened up on an offer worth $1million which came his way from Ron Dennis at McLaren, one which he needed little consideration to reject.

And said offer revolved around the trademark Scottish saltire which adorned Coulthard’s racing helmets, a feature which Dennis wanted gone.

Ron Dennis ‘hadn’t fully appreciated’ his McLaren request

Having started his Formula 1 career with Williams, Coulthard made the move to McLaren in 1996, winning 12 of his 13 grands prix with the team which, at that stage, was run by the steely Ron Dennis.

It was a role which Coulthard said Dennis was “incredible” at, but in an interview with the Daily Mail, he opened up on one Dennis wish which he just could not entertain.

After it was stated that Coulthard was offered $1million by Dennis to ditch the reference to his Scottish heritage from his helmet, Coulthard explained how the McLaren boss had been trying to get he and then team-mate Mika Hakkinen – who won his two World titles with the team in 1998 and 1999 – to get on board with a McLaren style.

“Back in the 1990s, Ron Dennis wanted to create a sort of uniform look for the team,” Coulthard revealed.

“Mika Hakkinen was my team-mate and, individually, he had this conversation with us. Both of us refused to entertain the idea. Maybe he hadn’t appreciated it fully.

“He was an incredible team principal and team owner but he had never been a driver. He could probably only relate to it if someone had suggested an amount of money to change the logo.”

After a four-season stint with Red Bull, Coulthard retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2008 and transitioned into a punditry role.

But the next generation of Coulthard is on the rise, with David’s 16-year-old son Dayton preparing to debut in GB4 in 2025.

And, Dayton also has opted to inherit the Scottish satire for his helmet, which in addition will feature the Belgian flag, that a nod to his mother Karen Minier.

“He identifies through his own choice as Scottish,” David explained.

“The identity on his helmet is a part of your core armoury. It’s what makes you happy. Your identity is your identity. Your name is your name. Not everything has a price.”

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After various changes to his shareholding percentage in the latter years of his time at McLaren, Dennis’ McLaren contract expired in January of 2017 and by June, he had agreed to sell his remaining shares in the team.

That marked the end of his involvement with Formula 1.

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