Coulthard: Once I lost to Max by five seconds.

      Racers, even former ones, don't like to back down, but on the Indo Sport podcast David Coulthard admitted that once he was five seconds slower than Max over a lap…

      David Coulthard: "Two years ago I was shooting a short film in Imola, and I took out the RB7 — Sebastian Vettel's championship-winning car. I did one lap on the track where I won the Grand Prix in 1998, and then Max got behind the wheel and was immediately five seconds quicker.

      Actually, I was pleased with my time, since I hadn't been to Imola for more than ten years and hadn't raced for about the same period. That gap gives you an idea of what it means to be in peak form. It's like putting Björn Borg, long retired from tennis, out on court with Novak Djokovic or another top active player. He's unlikely to win a single point.

      Over the years the neck muscles weaken; during the shoot I felt very uncomfortable in the car on the track. But you get used to that pain when you are constantly lining up on the grid.

      I was lucky to retire on my own terms, rather than being pushed out. After that I didn't do any sport for a whole year and was happy not to have to endure the pain in my neck, back, arms, and head from the vibrations, or the ringing in my ears from the noise. In Formula 1 you compete in a hostile environment, and at the end of my career I motivated myself by thinking I could endure more of that pain than my rival, that this pain would make him stop, not me."