Not many people would turn down a $1million offer but F1 legends David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen did.
The duo spent six seasons together at McLaren in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning the Constructors’ Championship in 1998.
GettyF1 icon Coulthard is a proud Scotsman and showcased it on his helmet during his career[/caption]
During that period, Hakkinen won the drivers’ title in the same year,, and in 1999, while Coulthard managed a second place finish in 2001.
Between them there were an impressive 30 wins too as they cemented themselves as stars of the track.
Running McLaren at the time was the stoic Ron Dennis and with money always at the forefront of Formula 1 he offered his drivers a bold proposal.
Take the Finnish and Scottish flags off their helmets for $1m.
However, Coulthard, in an interview with the Daily Mail, revealed he and his teammate refused, insisting ‘not everything has a price’.
He said: “Back in the 1990s Ron Dennis wanted to create a sort of uniform look for the team.
“Mika Hakkinen was my teammate 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.”
GettyHakkinen and Coulthard won a Constructors’ Championship together at McLaren[/caption]
Coulthard’s 16-year-old son Dayton will take part in GB4 this season and he will too wear the saltire flag on his helmet – despite also having Belgian lineage through his moth.
“He identifies through his own choice as Scottish,” added Coulthard.
“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.”
Scotland has a long history in F1, despite being a small nation.
And Coulthard insisted it’s like we’ll soon see another talented driver from north of the border in a cockpit.
He added: “Scotland has produced several Grand Prix drivers through the ages — from Jim Clark, to Sir Jackie Stewart, Allan McNish, myself.
“For a wee country we have had quite a bit of representation since the sport got going 75 years ago.
“I see no reason why we won’t see another Scot. If you’ve got the talent and work ethic and are lucky enough to be given the opportunity, then there’s no question it can happen again.”
This season, Lewis Hamilton, a man Coulthard duelled with during his career, is attempting to win an eighth title on the back a move from Mercedes to Ferrari.
And the Scotsman reckons his fellow Brit has a good chance of doing so.
“He can absolutely do it again,” says Coulthard. “He’s a seven-time champion. He can be more than that.
“It really comes down to whether Ferrari have a competitive car. Mercedes last year was good enough to win a couple of races, for both him and George Russell, but it wasn’t good enough to challenge for the championship.
“Ferrari won a couple of races for Charles [Leclerc] and Carlos [Sainz] but it wasn’t good enough to challenge in the way that Red Bull and, ultimately, McLaren did.
“So we’ll find out in time whether Ferrari have a competitive car or not — and, if they do, all he has to do is beat Charles and he can be champion again.”
