Formula 1 more exciting now,says Coulthard

Pointing at the costs of hosting an F1 race,Coulthard said that nothing comes for free these days. “When you go to watch a cricket match don’t you have to pay for a ticket?” asked the Scotsman when asked about the investments involved. “Formula One is an expensive sport,and you are not even going to get returns from ticket sales.”

However,the winner of 13 Grand Prix said interest in the sport could only grow with Force India’s presence on the grid. “Force India is improving very fast as their performance in the Belgian and Italian Grand Prix showed. They made an impact late this year but with a strong McLaren-based technical back up,they can do much better in the future,” he said.

Coulthard said it would have helped if some Indian driver would be driving the Force India car,but the country lacks on this front. “I have seen Narain (Karthikeyan) but he is not quite up to the mark. I have heard a lot about Karun Chandhok but he is driving in Moto GP2 and I think it’s not easy to say whether he would be as effective in the higher standards of Formula One,” he observed.

The Scotsman felt that with new teams like Brawn and Red Bull making their presence felt,F1 has become more unpredictable. “Earlier,big teams were better off due to better technical know-how but now with the same technical superiority available to all,the scene has changed. With no one having a monopoly it’s going to be really interesting in days to come,” added Coulthard.

Coulthard felt that the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix controversy has put the sport in a bad light. “I think what Nelson Piquet Jr has done has really hurt F1’s reputation. I don’t know how anyone can think of crashing deliberately. I drove all my life trying to avoid a crash,” opined Coulthard.

He also paid a tribute to F1 legend Michael Schumacher. “Great drivers find a way into great cars,” he said. “It’s difficult to match his success now,but as a driver he pushed a few boundaries when winning races and had his wins had their share of crashes.”