David Coulthard might be in the twilight of his F1 career, but, as Felipe Massa learnt in the aftermath of the San Marino Grand Prix, it is not a good idea to make the veteran Red Bull (driver) see red.
David Coulthard might be in the twilight of his F1 career, but, as Felipe Massa learnt in the aftermath of the San Marino Grand Prix, it is not a good idea to make the veteran Red Bull (driver) see red.
Coulthard, at whom Michael Schumacher reportedly threw a punch after the German’s Ferrari collided with the Scot’s McLaren in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, told the that he grabbed Massa by the throat after the Brazilian’s Sauber speared into his Red Bull race car at Imola last Sunday.
“I was absolutely furious and saw red,” Coulthard said. “I have respect for other drivers and I expect them to have respect for me.”
The Scot admitted he stepped in front of Massa’s passenger car as the Brazilian was leaving the Imola paddock on Sunday.
“I leaned in and grabbed him by the neck,” he said. “Then I looked up and saw his parents were in the back and that cooled things down pretty quickly.
“I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of them. But he continued ranting that I had used unsporting behaviour.
“Massa accused me of driving his car off the road and I have never done that in my life. But I am not in this business to give way to anyone,” Coulthard added.
Massa later angrily raised a finger at Coulthard when he finally overtook the Scot.
“I once showed Schumacher the finger (after he passed the German in the French Grand Prix) when I was angry but I apologised afterwards,” said Coulthard. “Massa had the chance to do that after the race but he didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Toyota has dropped its appeal against Ralf Schumacher’s 25-second penalty in the San Marino Grand Prix.
The German was stripped of eighth place when 25 seconds were added to his time because Toyota’s pit crew released him from a pitstop before it was safe to do so.
A Toyota statement read: “The team appealed because it wanted to undertake a detailed analysis of the incident. After an exhaustive review, the team feels the evidence is not conclusive and will not take the matter further.”
