Coulthard explains retirement, Button sad to see him go

Red Bull Racing Team driver David Coulthard announced today that he will retire after the final race of the season at Brazil. Two years after Michael Schumacher, Formula One loses another icon. During the FIA press conference the media wanted to know more about the decision of the Scotsman.

David Coulthard said: "There is not one morning you wake up if you are looking for a date, but I have had a growing feeling that this year is the right time to make it my last year in F1. I am enjoying very much the challenge and the racing even though I had a few incidents at the beginning of the year. The thought process was there before then. I am still competitive with the machinery I have got.

"After 15 years I am clearly not going to battle for a World Championship and am unlikely to win another Grand Prix unless something remarkable happens this year. I feel fulfilled in the role I have played at Red Bull. I took that job a few years and I have helped the team grow and I have seen the team move forward and be taken seriously I believe in the paddock, not that they weren't taken seriously before. But people didn't know what to expect from Red Bull. I just think it is a good time. I will be 38 next year and nothing lasts forever. I have enjoyed my racing and now is the right time."

Colleague and friend Jenson Button commented on Coulthard's retirement: "In a way for sure I am disappointed. If you look at David's career he has achieved a lot and a lot more that most drivers will ever achieve in their F1 career. I have also always got on well with DC since 2000. We have been pretty good friends around the paddock but also away from the circuit.

"I will miss him at the races for sure but I'm also happy for him that he has made the decision to do something else next year. It is nice when you can make that decision yourself and find something else that can take up your time. Obviously, he has a beautiful fiancée to look after also."