Apart from Jim Crawford’s brief flirtation with F1 in 1975 and Johnny Dumfries’s solitary Grand Prix season in 1986 there hadn’t been a Scottish Formula 1 driver since Jackie Stewart won his third title in 1973. David Coulthard became the next Scottish F1 during the 1994 season.
Scottish Formula 1 Drivers
David Coulthard graduated to a Formula 1 race seat in tragic circumstances. Williams had signed triple F1 champion Ayrton Senna to race alongside Damon Hill in 1994, but the partnership lasted just three races. While leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola Senna’s Williams left the track on a flat-out left hand curve called Tamburello, struck a concrete wall and inflicted fatal injuries on the great Brazilian.
Coulthard was the Williams test driver and found himself promoted to replace Senna, an unenviable task. Nevertheless he acquitted himself well and stayed with Williams for 1995, scoring his first Grand Prix victory that season. For 1996 Coulthard moved to McLaren, where he remained for several seasons. A consistent points finisher, Coulthard also racked up 13 wins during his career but was outperformed by his McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen and never became champion.
Coulthard’s final seasons in Formula 1 were with Red Bull. Following his retirement from racing he has forged a second career in the sport as a presenter for BBC Television’s Formula 1 coverage. Coulthard lives in Monaco and is also a successful businessman.
Allan McNish was one of the most promising young Scottish racing drivers during the 1980s. Despite impressive performances in the lower formulae it seemed as though Formula 1 would elude him. That was until 2002, when Toyota offered him a race seat. Unfortunately for McNish the car was not competitive, and he was fortunate to escape from a monumental accident at Suzuka. Away from Formula 1 McNish established himself as one of the world’s best sports car drivers and has won the Le Mans 24 Hours race twice.
Scottish F1 Driver Paul Di Resta
Scotland once again has a driver on the Formula 1 grid in 2011, with the announcement that Paul Di Resta will compete for Force India. Di Resta has an impressive record so far (his single-seater achievements include beating Sebastian Vettel to a Formula 3 title) and is the current DTM champion. He is a cousin of the Scottish Indycar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti. Di Resta will compete alongside Adrian Sutil during the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship season.
Kevin Guthrie - Kevin is based in Fife, Scotland, where he works as a music teacher, professional drummer and freelance writer. At an early age he ...
