Circuit de Catalunya - Spain 27 February 2008

1 J. Trulli Toyota 01:20.801 83

2 D. Coulthard Red Bull 01:21.258 76

3 N. Rosberg Williams 01:21.293 77

4 H. Kovalainen McLaren 01:21.309 87

5 M. Webber Red Bull 01:21.368 91

6 N. Piquet jr. Renault 01:21.443 114

7 F. Alonso Renault 01:21.454 128

8 K. Nakajima Williams 01:21.796 124

9 K. R

Exclusive Interview - Red Bull’s David Coulthard

With just over two weeks to go until the season opener in Melbourne, the majority of teams have been hard at work testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya this week. Red Bull are amongst those in action, keen to make the most of the dwindling track time left before March’s Australian race.

One of the biggest questions of 2008 is whether the team’s RB4 will be the stroke of genius everyone is expecting from chief technical officer Adrian Newey or not. Red Bull driver David Coulthard is cautiously optimistic that it is, and back behind the wheel, after a day resting following a neck injury, we caught up with the Scot to find out more…

Q: Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel was in your car on Tuesday. What happened?

David Coulthard: I felt very good in car but the conditions on the first day were not ideal. Obviously I didn’t warm up enough which led to the trapped nerve that the physio is working on. So I suggested that Sebastian Vettel should get in my car as Sebastien Buemi (Red Bull’s test and reserve driver) has no experience in Formula One, and as we are in the middle of the countdown for Melbourne, I thought that as a team we will gain more having an experienced driver in the car. Sebastien Bourdais was driving the single Toro Rosso, so it was a good use of the driving resource that we have.

Q: Your team mate Mark Webber has been quite excited about the RB4. How would you judge Red Bull’s 2008 challenger?

DC: We had a much better winter than last year, so our preparations are significantly advanced. My benchmark for this year is very clear. You have the winner of the race and you have the guy who is last, and the only time you can be satisfied is when you win - anything else is a step in the team’s development. And as long as I feel that the team is moving forward each year, and closing the gap to the quickest team by hopefully scoring more points, then I feel that we are making progress. As we speak, testing is going on with no points and no tangible results so I prefer to wait until Melbourne. And when we speak on Sunday night after the race I’ll tell you if we are in better shape or I’ll just say ‘ick’!

Q: Last season reliability was a big issue, with the team enduring 14 retirements. Over the winter, it seems that the car has made a great leap forward in terms of consistency. Would you agree?

DC: Yes, we have made a big step forward, so the changes that have been implemented at the factory in regards to the design process and ultimately the manufacturing, have started to show results. Last year we really gave away too many points - that will not happen again.

Q: What do you think are the most interesting differences between the RB4 and its predecessor?

DC: Visually it’s quite different and under the skin it is quite different as well, but it has nothing significantly unique to Formula One. In one way or another, it is similar to what you find up and down the pit lane - but with the added icing of Adrian’s special touch.

Q: What would you identify as the RB4’s weak spots?

DC: Well, ultimately it is not doing the fastest lap times - so that is the weak spot. How do you achieve the fastest lap time? That’s a combination of a number of factors. It is a popular belief that aerodynamics is the most dominant factor in a Formula One car so we have to look at that side very carefully for further improvements on the track.

Q: You recently talked about how all the teams have wind tunnels, skilled people and work hard but that some teams still have an advantage. What do you believe is the formula for a fast car?

DC: I think continuity over a period of years and a winning culture. When we started we had 400 people, now we have 600 and to make them work together and understand each other takes time. You have to crawl before you can run.

Q: Everybody seems to agree that the first four spots on the grid will be occupied by the usual suspects. How do you think the situation behind Ferrari and McLaren will develop? And where do you believe the Red Bulls will fit in?

DC: I think that nothing is agreed right now. My guess is that it will be very tight between Williams and Renault, and probably Toyota. I don’t know where BMW Sauber are right now, if they are slightly in front of us or not. But taking it as given that Ferrari and McLaren have an advantage, that group just mentioned is fighting over fifth to 10th place. We will have to wait for the Melbourne qualifying to see what happens. I would say - let’s go to Oz!

Q: You are about to embark on your 15th season in Formula One racing. You’ve seen it all - are you still as fond of it as ever?

DC: Is that really so! Well, I still love racing - that has not changed in all the years I have been in Formula One. And that will not change.

Q: Your goals must have changed over the years. Before it was surely to win the championship, whereas nowadays is it to make Red Bull a success? Are you both a driver and a consultant for the squad?

DC: Of course, as I don’t have a championship car this year. When I joined Red Bull Racing I knew that the resources would be there and I knew that I could play a part in helping them to develop, whether as a driver or in other areas of my experience. And in the end racing in the front or racing in the middle is still racing.

Q: After the end of this test, the next time you get into the car will be at Melbourne. In Australia the RB4 has to show its true colours. What is your prediction for the race?

DC: If we could qualify in the top ten and score some points it would be a very welcome start to the season. Of course, I would love more but let’s keep our feet on the ground.

David & Karen

Ecclestone and Coulthard back F1 in Schools

Chief Executive of The Formula One Group, Bernie Ecclestone, and Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard have given their support to the F1 in Schools initiative ahead of next month’s world championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The competition sees school children, aged 11 to 18, from all over the world use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race their miniature F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO2 cylinders.

“Formula One brings together a range of nationalities and cultures who work together to achieve a common goal and so replicating this in the F1 in Schools initiative will prove invaluable both personally and professionally for all the students taking part,” said Bernie Ecclestone.

The 2008 championships are taking place at Kuala Lumpur’s Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel from March18-20, during the build up to the Malaysian Grand Prix. Over three days of enthralling competition, 25 teams will pit their miniature Formula One cars against each other along a 20-metre two lane track at a scale speed of over 220mph.

“F1 in Schools offers young people aspiring to work in F1 a great opportunity to experience the demands of designing, engineering and manufacturing a racing car while contributing enormously to their education and enjoyment,” said Coulthard. “It’s inspirational to see them channelling their enthusiasm into engineering and Formula One.”

Ecclestone and Coulthard join F1 in Schools patrons - including Honda team principal, Ross Brawn; Red Bull’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey; Force India’s chief technical officer, Mike Gascoyne; Renault’s engineering director, Pat Symonds and Sam Michael, Williams’ technical director - as key supporters of the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge.

“My career in engineering started as a youngster because of an enthusiastic father and a Meccano set,” explained Brawn, the engineering brains behind Michael Schumacher’s seven Formula One titles. “F1 in Schools takes the idea to another level and contributes enormously to the education and enjoyment of these young people.

“There is such a broad range of disciplines along with the need to be part of a team within a competitive environment. You can see the sheer enthusiasm they have and it is great that all this enthusiasm is channelled into engineering and Formula One. These are our engineers of the future and our future is engineering.”

School children from 15 countries across the globe have won their way through regional and national finals, and competed against a global reach of seven million students, to win the chance to represent their countries in the fourth annual world championships. Teams will compete to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and BEng Automotive and Motor Sport Engineering scholarships at City University, London.

David Coulthard: New Red Bull May Struggle For Podium Place This Season

SCOTS F1 star David Coulthard believes the Red Bull Racing team have taken a large step forward but has forecast it will be difficult to challenge for podium finishes in the new Formula One season.

Coulthard believes he and team-mate Mark Webber will again find it tough to crack the dominance of Ferrari and McLaren.

"I think we've made a big improvement," Coulthard told www.autosport.com

"But I think McLaren and Ferrari are at the front, and then there's a group of uncertainty with BMW, Williams, Renault and ourselves. A lot of guys fighting over four places.

"The podium will be difficult if all the McLarens and the Ferraris finish, but I think there's definitely potential to make this car quicker.

"We've got an area that we know is weak and we just need to be able to design and build the parts."

COULTHARD REALISTIC

David Coulthard believes the Red Bull Racing team have taken a large step forward but has forecast it will be difficult to challenge for podium finishes in the new Formula One season.

Coulthard believes he and team-mate Mark Webber will again find it tough to crack the dominance of Ferrari and McLaren.

"I think we've made a big improvement," Coulthard told www.autosport.com

"But I think McLaren and Ferrari are at the front, and then there's a group of uncertainty with BMW, Williams, Renault and ourselves. A lot of guys fighting over four places.

"The podium will be difficult if all the McLarens and the Ferraris finish, but I think there's definitely potential to make this car quicker.

"We've got an area that we know is weak and we just need to be able to design and build the parts."

Webber added: "It's very tight between everybody.

"Between Williams, Renault and everybody, it's very tight. Ferrari are on their own, then McLaren, then BMW, then the rest."

F1 Star David Coulthard Reveals Underwear Secret To Staying Cool While Racing

GRAND Prix Scot David Coulthard has revealed he won't wear anything but Aussie underwear when he's racing by the seat of his pants.

And the first thing he did when he arrived in Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix was hit the shops - to stock up on 40 pairs of his favourite underpants.

Borders-born Coulthard is a big fan of Holeproof Underdaks, the best-selling smalls Down Under.

And he admitted at a press conference yesterday: "I've got a bit of Australia wrapped around my nether regions when I do all my grand prix."

The veteran Red Bull Racing driver, who turns 37 in two weeks, used to wear a pair of lucky blue pants in his early racing career but they eventually fell apart in the wash. He said: "I always go and stock up at the beginning of every season and buy my underdaks for the season ahead.

"They are extremely comfortable and they are the right colour if you are having a moment - because you don't want to be wearing white.

"And they are resistant to frequent washing, so they are all good, as far as I am concerned."

Holeproof have been best sellers since 1991, under the slogan: "One day you're gonna get caught with your pants down.

"So, if you're gonna get caught, make sure it's in Holeproof Underdaks."

Coulthard, born in Twynholm, Kircudbrightshire, but now living in Monaco, is in his fourth season with the Red Bull Racing team but is not one of the favourites to win when the season gets under way on Sunday.

Despite that, he says he has no plans to quit a sport he still loves, 13 years after taking his first Formula 1 chequered flag in Portugal.

He said: "Something you are passionate about, something you enjoy, you don't give yourself a timeline.

"So if I could be crude for a moment, sex-for instance - is an enjoyable thing to do.

"You don't go, 'I've done it for 10, 12, 14 years, so I think I'll stop doing it now.'

"You want to have that pleasure for as long as everything works."

Coulthard lies fourth in the all-time Formula 1 points list and is the top Briton.

He has won 13 grand prix after beginning his top-level career in 1994.

David in Saudi Arabia

Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix