F1 icon reveals how he raced with helmet of bitter rival Michael Schumacher

Mika Hakkinen celebrates winning the 2001 United States Grand Prix with Michal Schumacher and David Coulthard — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 icon reveals how he raced with helmet of bitter rival Michael Schumacher

It's not exactly a common occurrence

Chris Deeley

Thursday 19 February 2026 22:59 Updated: 00:00

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Former F1 star David Coulthard has revealed that he once wore one of his rival's helmets during a race.

It wasn't just any old rival either, but seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, fresh off back-to-back title wins in 1994 and 1995 with Benetton.

The 1996 season was a little less kind to the German, having moved to a rebuilding Ferrari team who were unable to provide him with a car fast enough to challenge the Williams pair of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.

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Coulthard has now revealed on The One Show that his rival, who he had many a battle with later in his career, once even lent him his helmet after a series of issues with his own failing to deal properly with rainy conditions.

Coulthard: Softer side to Schumacher

He revealed on the BBC show: “So Michael and I fell out many times on the racetrack, crashed into each other, and there was lots of battles. But in 1996 I was having difficulty in the rain, my visor was fogging up, so I asked Michael if I could borrow his helmet.

"And it showed the sort of compassion between competitors. He allowed me to use his helmet, and that helmet finished second in the Brazilian Grand Prix with him driving, and I finished second in the Monaco Grand Prix with that helmet, which is like asking a footballer, 'can I borrow your boots?' or something or a tennis player with a racket.

"So there was a softer side to Michael when we weren't falling out.”

There are even some pictures in the archives of what looks for all the world to be Schumacher winding his way around the streets of the principality in the iconic Marlboro McLaren livery. With the visor down, it's almost impossible to tell that it was actually a 25-year-old Scotsman.