Rookie racers a danger - Coulthard

David Coulthard has warned that someone will be killed unless Formula One bosses get tough on rookie drivers.

The 32-year-old revealed his fears as he admitted for the first time that he was at fault in his infamous incident with Michael Schumacher in Belgium five years ago.

Schumacher had to be physically held back when accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him after his Ferrari smashed into the back of the Scot’s McLaren in a rain-lashed race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Coulthard believes it is only a matter of time before a driver is sent airborne again off the back of another car, as happened in Australia in 2001 when a local marshal was killed after being hit by a flying tyre.

“There will be a fatality in motorsport in the future,” said Coulthard.

“Let’s hope it’s no time soon and that it never happens, but it is a dangerous business. You can’t just brush these things under the carpet.

“I don’t want to have that experience, or someone else have that experience of being launched into the air.

“The fact is it has happened twice before in the last few years with Jacques Villeneuve over the back of Ralf Schumacher and sadly a marshal was killed.

“Then Ralf went over the back of Rubens Barrichello and no-one was hurt. I was that close to doing something similar.”

Coulthard had to violently swerve to avoid ramming into the back of Fernando Alonso’s Renault at 200mph in last Sunday’s European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

The 21-year-old was accused of brake-testing his rival but Coulthard now believes the Spaniard, in his second season in F1, had just lifted off the brakes.

Coulthard reckons the problem is young drivers coming straight into F1 without having time to learn their craft in lower formulas where the consequences of mistakes can be less serious.

The Monaco-base racer admits it was his lack of experience which caused the incident in Belgium when he failed to move off the racing line while being lapped by Schumacher, who was unsighted by the fierce spray.

Schumacher was in the midst of a fierce title battle with Mika Hakkinen and believed Coulthard had deliberately tried to brake-test him to aid his McLaren team-mate.

“I’m not going to be hard on Alonso, but on recollection in Spa 1998 when Michael ran into the back of me, his reaction was that I’d brake-tested him and tried to kill him,” added Coulthard, who said he finally realised his error after last Sunday’s race in Germany.

“The stewards looked at the data and I hadn’t braked so it was brushed under the carpet.

“The reality is, I lifted to let him past me but I did it in heavy spray on the racing line.

“You should never do that. I would never do that now. In 1998 I didn’t have the experience and knowledge – and I’d never had anyone run into the back of me.

“All the other guys are doing the same thing but the risk is that it could have been a very big accident for Michael and Nurburgring could have been a very dangerous accident for me.

“Eventually, eight or 10 years from now, another young guy will come in and it will happen to Fernando and he will feel slightly different about it.

“All these young talents haven’t got the experience in the lower formulas and so you make those mistakes in Formula One.”

Coulthard believes the sport’s Race Director Charlie Whiting has to get tougher with drivers who do not move out of the way quick enough.

“We have the problem all the time with backmarkers even now,” he added.

“Charlie struggles to have a clear instruction for the guys being lapped and a clear definition of how soon if cars are catching them they should get out of the way.”

Coulthard, meanwhile, has also revealed that he was so frustrated and disillusioned at missing out on victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this season when Alonso ignored a yellow warning flag to slow down that he went out and got drunk.

He was in with a great chance of victory until the wet and wild race was cut short after Alonso smacked into debris left by Mark Webber’s crashed Jaguar.

“I was disillusioned,” added Coulthard, who saw Alonso still classified third. “In that kind of race it takes a lot of emotional energy to drive in those conditions.

“For some bizarre ruling that shouldn’t be there the guy who doesn’t pay attention to yellow flags still gets a podium place, just the whole ridiculousness of that finish is frustrating.

“I hit the bar when I got back to the hotel and was put to bed in a helluva state. But what can you do? You can’t punch someone?

“I sometimes think boxers are in a great position because if someone hits you and it hurts you’ve got the opportunity to punch them back.

“Here, you’ve got to try and talk to them, reason with them.”