David Coulthard sets the record straight on Christian Horner's role in bringing Adrian Newey to Red Bull 

David Coulthard revealed that it was former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner who came up with the idea of approaching Adrian Newey to join the Austrian team in 2006. The 54-year-old shared that he only set up the meeting between the two men who became the team's most important figures over the next two decades.

David Coulthard joined Red Bull in 2005 and played a pivotal role in setting the team up for success in the early stages of its existence. He is also often credited with helping bring legendary designer Adrian Newey to the team.

While appearing on the High Performance podcast recently, the host asked Coulthard if he was, in fact, the one who came up with the idea of hiring Adrian Newey in the first place.

"No, it was Christian Horner," replied Coutlhard.

"Christian went, 'do you think Adrian would be interested?', and I was like, 'God, I never even thought of that, Christian.'," he added.

Coulthard then went on the explain that he was involved in setting up the meeting between Horner and Newey, and later between Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz and Newey.

"So I went, 'okay, Adrian, yeah. Well the way to Adrian is his wife, Marigold, who manages his career, so why don't I set up a dinner with us all?'," Coulthard recalled.

"So I set up, Marigold, Adrian, Christian and I, we met at Bluebird on King's Road, which was conveniently close to my apartment in London. And we met in the private room there, sowed the seed, and brought him to Austria to meet Mr. Mateschitz," he added.

Coulthard became one of Red Bull's first big investments when they first came on the F1 grid in 2005. He drove for the team for four seasons, as he helped Christian Horner establish the team as one of the stronger outfits on the grid. In 2009, he retired and became an ambassador for the Milton Keynes-based side.

---

David Coulthard recalls what he said to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz to convince him to sign Adrian Newey

Dietrich Mateschitz with Adrian Newey at F1 Testing in Jerez -2012 - Source: Getty

David Coulthard recalled that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz was reluctant to hire Adrian Newey at first due to how expensive it would be for the team. The driver revealed that he told Mateschitz that signing Newey would be worth more than signing Michael Schumacher, as Newey could deliver him a car that was the best in class.

Speaking on the aforementioned podcast, Coulthard recalled how he responded to Mateschitz’s fear that Newey was too expensive.

"I said: 'Well, you would pay that for Michael Schumacher and more. All he does is drive the car. If you have a car that is the best in class then you can have average drivers who can win Grand(s) Prix',"

"Anyway, that point was taken. He agreed to sign Adrian and that started another phase for Red Bull's future success," he added.

Newey eventually joined the squad in 2006, and within four years, had already designed a car good enough to win the world championship. Red Bull claimed four consecutive constructors' championships from 2010 to 2013, whileSebastiann Vettel claimed as many drivers' titles during this period.