David Coulthard might have wondered at the end of the 2004 Formula 1 season whether he should walk away from the sport.
After having the incredibly difficult job of stepping into Ayrton Senna’s seat after the legendary Brazilian was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, David Coulthard shared driving duties at Williams with another champion Nigel Mansell that year.
Coulthard spent one full season driving for Williams before being signed by McLaren for the 1996 season.
It was a deal a long time in the making but potentially cost Coulthard a drivers’ championship as Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve went on to win back-to-back titles with the team in the two seasons after his move.
However, McLaren were a team on the up and it wasn’t long before Coulthard was regularly challenging for victories.
He witnessed teammate Mika Hakkinen win the championship in 1998 and 1999 and was Michael Schumacher’s closest rival in the early 2000s when the Finnish driver’s form started to drop off.
Coulthard and McLaren slowly started to fall down the standings as time went on and by the time the end of the 2004 campaign rolled around, the Scot had just finished 10th in the championship.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis decided to go with Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, leaving Coulthard searching for another seat in the driver’s market.
In an interview with Motorsport, he explained that before signing for Red Bull, he would have rather quit the sport than race for their predecessors Jaguar in Formula 1.
David Coulthard said he would ‘quit F1’ before racing for Jaguar ahead of Red Bull move
On the 20th anniversary of Red Bull’s first season, Coulthard admitted: “I decided that I would not sign for Jaguar. I would rather quit Formula 1 than sign for them.
“Christian [Horner] came in but he had to figure out which door led to which department at Jaguar!
“I went to the first test and I remember the team wanted me to sign straight away, before the test.
READ MORE: David Coulthard made one eerily accurate Red Bull prediction 20 years ago after their first-ever Formula 1 race
“But I said ‘No, let me do the test first and learn more about the team’. I knew some people from the Paul Stewart Racing days.
“Every team has a core of good people but you also need strong leadership, investment and people who make the whole team believe that this is the right direction.
“That was missing in my view. So I went to the test and said ‘If I do well, you want to sign me and if you do well, I want to join you’.”
Red Bull have now become the blueprint for how to start a Formula 1 team
Since Red Bull’s debut in 2005 with Coulthard, Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi in their cars, no team has made more progress in the paddock.
Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel have won four championships each and only Mercedes have won more titles in the same timeframe.
Jaguar – on the other hand – was not such a well-run team and it’s not a surprise that Coulthard was wary about driving for them.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
| Grand Prix entered | 85 |
| First Grand Prix | 2000 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Points | 49 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Best qualifying | 2nd (2004 Malaysian Grand Prix) |
| Best race | 3rd (two occasions) |
| Best constructors ranking | 7th |
They were a vehicle for Ford to try and put their stamp on Formula 1, but the various parts of the team were too disconnected to ever be more than a midfield runner.
Although Coulthard disagreed with the creation of Red Bull’s second team, he was instrumental in Christian Horner’s manufacturer building a successful foundation in Formula 1.
It’s up to Horner, Verstappen and now Liam Lawson to continue that success in 2025.
