Women are better drivers than men, says Coulthard

Former Formula 1 driver and Channel 4 TV pundit David Coulthard has been discussing the possibility of women driving alongside in Formula 1 in the future, and believes there's no reason why they can't be successful because 'women are better drivers than men'.

The issue of women's increasing involvement in F1 has been fuelled in recent months, and speaking to Graham Norton's Radio 2 show, where he was promoting his new book, he stated that women have a better track record on the road in terms of crashes, and there's nothing to suggest that women could not compete with men at the highest level.

Coulthard said: "There's no physical reason why women couldn't be successful.

"Historically they are better drivers than men because there are less insurance claims, less crashes with ladies on the road. So that must translate into something in racing.

"It's just numbers. My youngest sister raced karts and she won some races in karting, so I think she was more naturally talented than I was.

"But I had that sort of relentless work ethic to keep trying to improve, keep trying to get the best out of myself. So she stopped racing, but I think it was just purely numbers."

Coulthard also discussed the possibility of becoming involved in TV show Top Gear now that current host Matt Le Blanc has chosen to step down due to other commitments, and said that he had been in the running prior to the previous revamp of the format, when Chris Evans became the presenter.

He added: "I did look at Top Gear and did have the opportunity when Chris Evans got involved. But it wouldn't have worked out with my Channel 4 broadcasting for Formula 1.

"So they have my number, but oddly enough nobody's called!"