\u201cWhat they were was consistently world-class. And I dipped in and out of it. My performances were like that, so that\u2019s why the result books reflect the drivers at that time. Mika was consistently quick. Michael was consistently quick. They got the world championships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coulthard should have started the 2000 French GP from pole position, but was instead second. Fuel pump problems meant he and Hakkinen swapped across McLaren\u2019s three cars in qualifying \u2014 allowed under the rules back then \u2014 with the spare known as a \u2018T-car.\u2019 Schumacher, meanwhile, had claimed pole after diligently working to improve his car\u2019s set-up and handling, then nailing his best lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember waking early. I\u2019d stayed just outside the track in my motorhome, I got on the rowing machine, did half an hour, and I just was so confident even though I was second on the grid,\u201d Coulthard said of his feelings pre-race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really a bizarre qualifying session, but I was still confident on a track that I had been strong on before. Michael did the big chop on the run to the first corner that allowed Rubens to go round the outside. So, now I\u2019m p\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013 off. I was angry. I had to fight to come back, overtake Rubens, get on to Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coulthard called his first move against Schumacher \u201ca bit half-hearted, but he did what he does, which is going to push you wide.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Coulthard (far left) and Schumacher (second from left) in 2000 (Paul-Henri Cahier\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Schumacher would go on to become F1\u2019s first seven-time world champion, but at the time of this clash, the German had two titles (and none for Ferrari) alongside a fearsome reputation shaped by the events of Adelaide 1994, when he collided with Damon Hill and beat him to the title with both retiring. Then there was the final race of the 1997 season in Jerez, where another controversial collision led to Jacques Villeneuve winning the world championship, with Schumacher stripped of second place.<\/p>\n
Coulthard\u2019s immediate sweary response at Magny-Cours\u00a0generated headlines.<\/p>\n
Autosport magazine declared the following week: \u201cThe Only Way is Up (yours, Michael).\u201d Although one of its readers was distinctly unimpressed and felt the need to \u201cexpress my disgust\u2026 my daughters, aged six and eight, and I watch the grands prix together, and if I wanted them to witness such obscene gestures, I would take them to a football match. Michael Schumacher\u2019s sportsmanship might not be the best, but not even he has stooped this low.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Associated Press report<\/a> said Coulthard was \u201clike a highway driver with a case of road rage,\u201d and had \u201cgreeted his Formula One rival with a clenched fist and an obscene gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n Coulthard apologized for his actions afterwards. \u201cAnd it was completely absurd that I\u2019d think he would see me giving him the middle finger, but it was just the frustration of, \u2018Buddy, you can try that, but I\u2019m still coming by it one way or the other.\u2019\u00a0 I was convinced I was winning that grand prix, so it was just a question of where I was going to get past him.\u201d<\/p>\n Schumacher told reporters that day, \u201cIf he doesn\u2019t like it, he can go somewhere else\u2026 It\u2019s normal practice; I remember in Malaysia (1999), he overtook me and pushed me to the outside. I don\u2019t believe I complained a lot.\u201d Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered a severe brain injury while skiing in December 2013.<\/p>\n Coulthard\u2019s moment came just seven laps later that day in France. He feigned another look at the Adelaide hairpin\u2019s outside, then dived to the inside when Schumacher moved to cover his first position. The Ferrari stayed alongside through the corner, and they bashed wheels on the exit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a race of commitment. I was committed, and if he turned, we were going to crash because I had the overspeed,\u201d Coulthard said. \u201cBut I know that you can\u2019t watch your mirrors the whole time, so I felt that he thought that I\u2019d be too far back, or I wouldn\u2019t try that based on what happened before.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I did everything right. And there were a few moments where I was able to do that sort of wheel-to-wheel racing with Michael and come away with the result.\u201d<\/p>\n Schumacher would later retire from the 2000 French GP when his engine failed and billowed smoke.<\/p>\n Twenty-five years on, does Coulthard still feel he was right to apologize for his gestures? \u201cI apologized afterwards because I remembered there was kids watching and all that sort of thing. I wasn\u2019t sort of inciting violence or anything, but it wasn\u2019t very sporting, and I always kind of prided myself on being a sportsman. It is what it is. Passions run high. The frustration was there.\u201d<\/p>\n The incident has parallels with today\u2019s racing. Schumacher\u2019s move was typical of his style, continuing the tradition established by the very aggressive Ayrton Senna. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen\u2019s uncompromising racing in this era garners similar debate.<\/p>\n In shoving Coulthard wide at the Adelaide hairpin, Schumacher\u2019s driving is actually codified these days in F1\u2019s \u2018Driving Standards Guidelines.\u2019 A driver has to have their \u201cfront axle ahead of the front axle of the other car at the apex\u201d of a corner. And, if they don\u2019t, the driver on the inside can run them fully wide and take all the space. The onus is on the driver attempting to live by the sword.<\/p>\n However, at the turn of the century, not only were such moves largely unregulated, but aggression was the exception, not the norm.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to live for your time, haven\u2019t you? That was that time, and so I\u2019m happy,\u201d Coulthard said.<\/p>\n Coulthard eventually passed Schumacher at the same corner where their infamous Magny-Cours clash occurred. (Samira Bouhin \/ AFP \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n One of the most striking things about the French GP saga is how visible Coulthard\u2019s gestures were from the cockpit of his McLaren MP4\/15.<\/p>\n In those days, before many of the safety systems used in modern F1 car design had been established, the drivers\u2019 helmets were fully exposed, and often their hands were too when turning. Since 2018, the halo cockpit protection system has better cocooned the drivers, along with other developments, such as much higher cockpit sides \u2014 a design that followed Coulthard\u2019s crash with Alex Wurz at the 2007 Australian GP<\/a>.<\/p>\n In modern F1, it\u2019s therefore even harder to see such driver emotion behind the wheel, which is a longstanding issue. An exception is Liam Lawson giving Sergio P\u00e9rez the finger<\/a> at the 2024 Mexican GP, after they\u2019d clashed earlier at the latter\u2019s home race.<\/p>\n Visible outbursts are rare these days, though verbal ones are commonplace on the team radio broadcasts that weren\u2019t aired in 2000.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1198510491.jpg\")
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