F1 champion Jenson Button had to rugby tackle rival to stop him getting naked in front of fans

David Coulthard pictured in 2023 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Off the Track

F1 champion had to rugby tackle rival to stop him getting naked in front of fans

David Coulthard has told an unusual story

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 10 January 2026 17:55

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Former F1 star David Coulthard has revealed that an F1 champion had to save him from an embarrassing moment, in a very unusual story.

Coulthard raced in F1 between 1994-2008, claiming 13 grand prix victories in that time, and towards the end of his career, the Scot also raced against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Button became a world champion in 2009 as part of the fairytale story surrounding Brawn GP, and now Coulthard has told a very unusual story about the Brit, and how he saved Coulthard from what would have been a hugely embarrassing moment.

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Coulthard has said that, after a few drinks on his boat, the pair had headed to the French island of Corsica, where Coulthard had wanted to give F1 fans 'a show'.

"We were on my boat we left Monaco and we were heading for Corsica and I think that’s about 16 nautical miles, so however long that took us, and however many drinks that took us, and then we arrived in the port and it was the summer and there was a lot of fans of Formula 1 around," Coulthard told the Red Flags podcast. "I decided we should give them a show.

"So I’m getting my clothes off and saying: 'Right, let’s get out in the back of the boat.' So I wasn’t skinny dipping it was in the harbour, I was just going to get naked and Jenson’s rugby tackling me to the floor in the salon of my boat to stop me and he’s saying to the crew ‘close the curtains’.

"I’m trying to get my pants off to show Corsica what jock c**k looks like. Anyway, I never managed. It’s all good fun."

Coulthard's F1 career

While thankfully Button rescued Coulthard - and us - from what would've been an awful moment, Coulthard is remembered for his racing talent in F1.

He claimed 13 race victories and finished runner up in the 2001 drivers' championship, as well as finishing third in the championship on four occasions.

Coulthard raced for some huge teams in Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, guiding the Milton Keynes-based outfit through their early forays into the sport.

If it wasn't for having the supreme talent of Mika Hakkinen alongside him at McLaren between 1996-2001, you would have backed Coulthard to become a world champion, but he has since spoken about how McLaren boss at the time Ron Dennis had preferred Hakkinen to the Scotsman.

F1 Jenson Button David Coulthard