By sw
December 23 2004

The Austrian drinks magnate has said that Coulthard is one of the drivers at the top of his list as the team makes its debut in 2005 having bought out Jaguar. "If we look at the drivers who are available, DC (David Coulthard) is on the very top," Mateschitz told the magazine.

The 33-year-old, who has 11 years of F1 racing under his belt having started his career at Williams where he replaced Ayrton Senna after the Brazilian's death, looks set to face a challenge for a seat from Germany's Nick Heidfeld.

"I believe that Coulthard is one of the brightest characters in F1," said Mateschitz.

"He has had some quite difficult times in the past with his team. What our team needs now is also experience, because it's difficult for us to only have two rookies.

"I am sure that the team will talk to him and I personally believe that he's not only a good-looking driver but also a great racer.

"There are only two drivers who have proved to be both fast and experienced: those two are Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard."