David Coulthard has revealed he turned down a $1 million offer from McLaren Team Principal Ron Dennis for a specific request.
The 13-time Grand Prix winner raced for McLaren from 1996 to 2004, taking all but one of his wins for the Woking marque.
Coulthard arrived at McLaren when the team was rebuilding after a difficult period in F1, enduring a winless streak stretching back to 1993.
After just a year with the team, he took his first win for McLaren at the opening round of the season in Australia in 1997.
1997 was the first season McLaren raced in silver, courtesy of German tobacco brand West. The classic red and white Marlboro liveries were consigned to the history books.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Coulthard revealed he turned down $1 million from Ron Dennis to remove the iconic Scottish Saltire from his helmet.
David Coulthard rejected a ‘ a uniform look’ for McLaren
Coulthard revealed Dennis wanted to create a specific look for McLaren. Team-mate Mika Hakkinen also spoken to by Dennis about his helmet.
“Back in the 1990s, Ron Dennis wanted to create a sort of uniform look for the team,” Coulthard said.
“Mika Hakkinen was my team-mate and, individually, he had this conversation with us. Both of us refused to entertain the idea. Maybe he hadn’t appreciated it fully.
“He was an incredible team principal and team owner but he had never been a driver. He could probably only relate to it if someone had suggested an amount of money to change the logo.”
Coulthard’s 16-year-old son Dayton also now races with the Saltaire, and a small Belgian flag in honour of his mother.
He identifies through his own choice as Scottish.”
“The identity on his helmet is a part of your core armoury. It’s what makes you happy. Your identity is your identity. Your name is your name. Not everything has a price.”
Dayton Coulthard will race in the GB4 championship for 2025, driving for Douglas Motorsport.
Feature Image Credit: @McLarenTeamFan on X
