On punditry duties at the Chinese Grand Prix, David Coulthard appeared with his left arm in a sling.

And it would emerge that Coulthard had suffered a broken collarbone in a motorbike accident, this fortunately the full extent of his injuries.

David Coulthard crash: Broken collarbone suffered

Formula 1 headed for the Shanghai International Circuit which last weekend hosted Round 2 of 24 in the F1 2025 season, the Chinese Grand Prix.

There, Coulthard – a 13-time grand prix winner – was on punditry duties with Channel 4, and their coverage began by addressing why his left arm was in a sling.

Presenter Steve Jones said: “I just want to point out really quickly, DC has had a bit of a tumble on his bike, he’s broken his collarbone.

“But you’re okay, yes?”

To that, Coulthard thankfully replied: “Yes, all good.”

Coulthard celebrated his 54th birthday on Thursday and while live on air for Heart Radio, British TV personality Amanda Holden – best known for being a judge on Britain’s Got Talent – shed a little more light on the incident by confirming Coulthard had come off his motorbike.

Coulthard was best man at Holden’s wedding and is the godfather to her daughters.

“He’s just broken his collarbone – but on a motorbike,” Holden revealed. “Can you believe that?”

The pieces of this puzzle further fell into place when a social media clip emerged of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen speaking with Coulthard about his injury at the Chinese GP.

Seeing Coulthard and gesturing to his shoulder, Verstappen asked: “What happened?”

Coulthard would reply: “I came off the KTM in New Zealand, so I’ve broken a collarbone.”

As Verstappen asked what happened in the crash, Coulthard said: “Highsiding a hill. But, up until that point, I was amazing!”

Verstappen would also ask Coulthard whether we was in pain with the injury, to which he replied: “Yeah, it’s painful”, so Verstappen’s advice was to get some “gin and tonic” necked to ease that pain.

Max Verstappen has new Red Bull team-mate

👉 The big Red Bull question that will be answered after Lawson/Tsunoda swap

👉 Red Bull’s seven shortest driver stints – and why they ended

After a runner-up finish at the opening round in Australia, Verstappen managed P4 only at the Chinese GP, Red Bull calling an emergency meeting after the event, with Verstappen’s pursuit of a fifth straight World Championship not getting off to the brightest of starts with the RB21 not where the team want it to be.

“This meeting is primarily about Max sitting down with the technicians and going through the next steps,” Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko confirmed to OE24.

“The aim is to calmly address Max’s wishes and criticisms.”

Verstappen sits P2 in the early Drivers’ Championship standings, eight points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

The Chinese GP race weekend began on a very sombre note as news came through of the sad passing of Eddie Jordan, the much-loved former team boss who went on to become an F1 pundit.

He was a close friend to Coulthard, the duo often appearing together on the Formula For Success podcast, which Jordan had in recent times used as a platform to raise awareness over men’s health after being diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer, encouraging men to get tested.

And it was on that podcast where Coulthard revealed just how soon after the tragic news of Jordan’s passing that he had suffered this motorbike crash.

Appearing alongside fellow ex-red Bull driver Mark Webber on an episode dedicated to Jordan, Coulthard said: “So, we were together when we got the news.

“In between Melbourne and Shanghai, you organised an epic motorbike tour in New Zealand, and I’m sitting here, recently plated, having broken my collarbone.

“Which, as you know, happened about 30 minutes or so after we got the news of Eddie’s passing.

“And lying in the field, waiting to work out what I’m going to do with this newly-broken bone, we were joking that this was either EJ looking out for me and making sure I fell on my shoulder rather than my neck, or it was him just leaving me a little reminder of how he was a pleasure and a pain at times in my life!”

Read next – Eddie Jordan: F1’s last ‘rock and roll’ star, while others ‘were Ascot’