David Coulthard reveals what he noticed when his Williams laps were overlaid on Ayrton Senna data

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David Coulthard was in awe of Ayrton Senna’s ‘commitment’ after studying his telemetry at Williams. Coulthard was a test driver for the British team when Senna joined the team in 1994.

That gave Coulthard the precious opportunity to compare himself against one of F1’s greatest-ever drivers in the same machinery. It was the Scotsman who had to step in after Senna’s fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino GP.

On the latest episode of the Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard recalled splitting the track time with Senna during one Williams test at Estoril in Portugal.

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David Coulthard realised Ayrton Senna was no ‘traditional’ driver

Coulthard explained that Senna was extremely aggressive on the entry into high-speed corners. Drivers tended to avoid this approach for fear of losing speed on the exit.

But the Brazilian found a way to access all of the grip available without over-rotating the car. Coulthard says this is a common trait among F1 greats.

Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen in particular is known for his ability to keep a car on the edge while very rarely making a mistake.

• READ MORE: How David Coulthard’s lap times compared to Max Verstappen in Red Bull filming day 14 years after he retired

“The thing that stood out around Estoril, you came onto the start/finish straight around a very high-speed right-hander. The first corner was down one gear, then flat out again. The next corner was virtually flat out, then you slowed down into a hairpin.

“What was really impressive was just the commitment that Ayrton had on the entry phase to the high-speed corners. What was more traditional was to feel your way into the corner. You tended to have a slightly better exit onto the straight because you weren’t so edge on the entry phase.

“But just looking at how much belief and how much commitment [he had]. Bear in mind the cars in that era had no power steering, so very often you committed to a high-speed corner and what you managed to turn, that was as much steering as you were getting.

“He just had a way of rotating the car on that entry phase, getting it sitting on the rear tyre. If I look at the greats that I’ve raced against and the greats that I’ve watched, they have an ability to lean on the rear tyre. You’ve got to be comfortable with feeling like it’s all about to get loose.”

Ayrton Senna’s recommendation to Frank Williams over David Coulthard

Coulthard also recalled Senna listening to his feedback during a test session to see how it differed. While he naturally felt enormous pressure, he earned the three-time world champion’s approval.

Senna even told Frank Williams that he should give Coulthard a seat eventually, and he went on to make 25 appearances in their colours, scoring nine podiums.

• READ MORE: David Coulthard explains why Ayrton Senna is above Michael Schumacher in his personal F1 rankings

“Off the back of that day, I know that he had a conversation privately with Frank approving that I could stay as a test driver and saying that he felt I deserved a chance in Formula 1 in the future.”

Only Stirling Moss (16) has won more races than Coulthard (13) without ever taking an F1 title. He lost out to Mika Hakkinen at McLaren in the late 90s before Michael Schumacher started to dominate at Ferrari.