David Coulthard has called on his rivals to own up to their mistakes and to stop blaming him, after being taken out of two of the first three grands prix of the year by other drives.
The Scot launched into a now infamous television tirade against
Ferrari's
Felipe Massa after being taken out of the Australian Grand Prix, and then found himself on the receiving end again in Bahrain, when
Honda's
Jenson Button locked up and clambered over DC's
Red Bull entry. Now Coulthard has suggested that it is time for drivers to admit when they got it wrong.
"I'm a bit weary of arguing about these collisions, because I think other drivers have got to take responsibility for their actions as well," the
New Zealand Herald quoted him as saying.
"The thing that's most disappointing is that, when I screw up, I admit my mistake but, when other people cause an accident with me, they seem not to. I feel it's a bit unfair that I'm made out to be some sort of crasher when I've done 230-plus grands prix and generally kept my nose pretty clean."
True to his word, Coulthard accepted full responsibility for the accident with Alex Wurz at last year's Australian Grand Prix that led to the introduction of higher cockpit sides for 2008. Ironically, that rule change has made it harder for drivers to see rivals making speculative moves, as was the case in both of the Scot's incidents this season.
"I don't want to crash with any of these people, but I'm not just going to move over and say 'after you, Claude'. If it makes them happier, I'll say it was all my fault, but, on that basis, it will be all my fault if they try the same thing again, because I can't see them when they're in my blind spot, we have high cockpit sides, and they're not far enough alongside. Either pass me properly or don't stick your nose in there."
