5 days Ago By Thomas Maher
David Coulthard has weighed in on the recent chatter about biases within the media, sharing his thoughts via an amusing Tesco-based analogy. A spotlight has been shone on perceived biases within Formula 1 in recent weeks, following on from comments made by Max Verstappen in the wake of controversial on-track incidents in the United States and Mexico. Verstappen made his comments following a spate of criticism in the wake of his approach to battles with championship rival Lando Norris in two successive weekends in Austin and Mexico.
Picking up two hefty time penalties for aggressive racing in the Mexican Grand Prix, his actions triggered negative commentary from several prominent pundits, such as Damon Hill questioning whether fair racing “is within Verstappen’s repertoire”. Further criticism from FIA steward Johnny Herbert, who was involved on the stewarding panel that awarded Verstappen his penalties, led the reigning World Champion to single Herbert out for perceived bias and said of his critics that he pays “no attention to those individuals”. With Verstappen making a point to question the attendance – or lack thereof – of the British media in the press conference in Brazil, it cast a further spotlight on the topic of bias within the media.
David Coulthard, while a Red Bull ambassador to this day, is well-known for his balanced commentary through his work with Channel 4, willing to single out or criticise any driver or team performance as he sees fit, and the Scot addressed the question of parking allegiances as he spoke to PlanetF1.com at the Red Bull Showrun in Galway, Ireland. “The people that are normally talking about bias are the ones who are hearing praise for their not favourite driver.
I get it,” he said. “I don’t decide who wins races. I really don’t care who wins the race in as much.
.. just entertain me.
Show me brilliance. “Lewis [Hamilton] at his brilliant best, you go, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, there are very little words needed to be put to that picture. You’ve just witnessed something special.
..’ Charles or Max, or whoever it is.
” Coulthard came up with an amusing analogy, comparing the situation to the ongoing row on the Hebridean island of Lewis, on which locals are protesting the opening on Sundays of a Tesco supermarket. “I watched a thing on the news this morning about Lewis [the Scottish island], and, today, Tescos is opening on a Sunday on one of these small Scottish islands,” Coulthard said. “There are only 7000 people on the island, and they got 3000 signatures complaining about Tesco opening.
They went round to people being interviewed, and some people are going, ‘I’m not bothered. You know, if people want to go to Tescos on a Sunday, they can’. “Then there was a couple who’d moved there four years ago from Yorkshire, and she was like, ‘I’m really angry about it because we moved here because this island’s quiet, and we don’t want the noise of a Tescos being open’.
“So the minority, very often, are pi**ed off by the majority’s indifference, or whatever. “So you may be predisposed to liking carrots and not onions and if someone puts onions on the table and you’re like ‘Oh, I don’t like them’..
. suffer in silence. “The people who like onions.
.. let them have them on the table!” 👉 Ranking the best pundits in F1: Brundle, Rosberg, Hill and more all rated 👉 Revealed: The best race of the F1 2024 season so far according to you Coulthard summed up his point by saying that, in the majority of cases, the crux of the issue lies in the respective fandoms, in that they might not like to hear a rival praised due to tribalistic support.
“I know that, for those who see me as being sort of anti-Lewis – bearing in mind, I’ve worked with Lewis since he was a wee boy at McLaren and I’m not at all anti-Lewis – but, if he does brilliant, I praise him,” he said. “If he does an average job, I’ve got to say that’s not what we expect from us – you know, the facts don’t lie. The data shows whether someone’s done a good job or not.
“This is one of those things that goes on forever. The minute somebody says something other than absolute praise for their favourite driver, you’re being biased. “Actually, I see my responsibility as being to report the facts, and then if it’s a 50/50, or ‘Is that a driver incident?’ or ‘Is that a penalty?’.
.. to give my opinion.
“But the reality is my opinion doesn’t sway the stewards. The stewards give their decision. Sometimes I go, ‘Yep, that seems about fair’.
Sometimes I go, ‘what are they smoking? How can they give a penalty for that?’ “Because I’ve seen racing through [a visor] and I’ve obviously seen it through the telly but that doesn’t mean I’m right. So therefore, when they’ve made the decision, I go, ‘Well, it’s not what I would have done, but the referee’s decision is final’.” Read Next: David Coulthard’s Lewis Hamilton warning after ‘frustrated’ Ferrari switch.
