F1 star offered Jeremy Clarkson a free pub, here's why he rejected it

Jeremy Clarkson

F1 star offered Jeremy Clarkson a free pub, here's why he rejected it

It's not every day you get an offer like that

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Tuesday 11 August 2026 10:58

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Former F1 star David Coulthard has revealed that he once offered a pub to Jeremy Clarkson for free, and why he turned it down.

Clarkson's ties with F1 run deep. The former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter is a semi-regular in the paddock, and he recently partnered with one team for the British Grand Prix.

Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm Shop supplied Alpine with local farm food throughout the entire grand prix weekend at Silverstone, with the Enstone-based outfit being Clarkson's local F1 team and less than 10 miles away.

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Now, though, Coulthard has revealed that Clarkson could have been involved in a very different partnership, in a business venture with the former McLaren star.

Jeremy Clarkson offered free pub by David Coulthard

Keen watchers of Clarkson's Farm will know that he now owns and runs a pub based in Oxfordshire, but according to Coulthard, he was offered the chance to own one elsewhere two years ago.

Coulthard says that he was willing to give Clarkson the pub for nothing, but only on one condition.

"I bought a pub in Barnes which just didn't work," Coulthard explained on the Kidd in a Sweet Shop YouTube channel.

"It was a brown dog, with some other investors, and we couldn't make it work.

"I actually offered it to Jeremy Clarkson. I said, 'Jeremy, I'll give you the pub. It's yours, title deeds, but if and when you make money, you start cutting us in.'"

Why Clarkson rejected Coulthard's free pub

While the proposition of a free pub must have been an enticing one for Clarkson, he ultimately turned down the F1 legend's offer. Coulthard believes that the pub's location was not what Clarkson was looking for.

"I think it was just too far from where he lives to make it sensible," Coulthard concluded. "It's a difficult business pubbing.”

In the end, Clarskon found an option much closer to home, and now runs The Farmer's Dog, which is based near Burford in West Oxfordshire.

The pub opened in 2024 and has gone on to become another key part of Clarkson's ever-growing Diddly Squat empire.

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