Coulthard 'gutted' after last Grand Prix ends in retirement

After 246 race starts, Red Bull’s David Coulthard had hoped to end his Formula One career with some celebratory donuts. But an incident at the start of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix involving Williams team mates Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima saw Coulthard’s final Grand Prix end in early retirement at the first corner.

“I’m pretty gutted, it’s not how I wanted to end my career,” said the Scot. “I took a cautious approach into Turn One and left plenty of space for the car on the inside, but unfortunately I think Rosberg hit me though Turn Two, which spun me round. I thought it would be okay, but then Nakajima ran into the front of my car and took off the front corner.”

But despite his early exit, Coulthard remained characteristically philosophical about his Interlagos race, and thankful to Red Bull, with whom he will continue to work next season as a consultant.

“I wanted to get to the chequered flag,” he said. “I was going to do some donuts for the crowd, which is something you normally get fined for, but it didn’t work out. I can’t complain though, I’ve had a good career, so thank you to everyone who has supported me. Thank you also to the efforts of every member of the Red Bull Racing team for the last four years, which have been a lot of fun, I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: “It’s a great shame for David to be eliminated from his last Grand Prix at the first corner, but he can look back on a long and illustrious career where he’s achieved a great deal. He now moves on to a different phase in his life and will continue to have a close relationship with Red Bull Racing. We’re looking forward to working with him outside the cockpit.”

Coulthard bows out of his 15-year career with 13 wins, 12 pole positions and an impressive haul of 535 points.