David Coulthard has admitted that next weekend's British Grand Prix may be his swansong as a racing driver at Silverstone. The 37-year-old Scot, who currently drives for Red Bull and is the oldest competitor in the Formula One field, confirmed yesterday that he may have to consider retirement.

David Coulthard has admitted that next weekend's British Grand Prix may be his swansong as a racing driver at Silverstone. The 37-year-old Scot, who currently drives for Red Bull and is the oldest competitor in the Formula One field, confirmed yesterday that he may have to consider retirement from the sport he has graced since 1994, but added that it would not be the biggest tragedy in the world.

"I'm quite a realist," he said. "I have loved being a Grand Prix driver for many seasons, and I still really enjoy it, but there will come a point, naturally, where that's not going to continue and . . . boo hoo, you know," added Coulthard, whose contract is up for renewal at the end of the present campaign and who is poised to be replaced in the Red Bull line-up by France's Sebastian Vettel.

"There are a lot of worse things that can happen to you, so you move on to the next opportunity and be very grateful for the chance you have had to do something which you love.

"I've already won twice at Silverstone in 1999 and 2000 and, of course, it would be nice to be in contention again next Sunday, because I really enjoyed standing on the podium again in Canada and that experience reminded me how passionate I still am about Formula One. But when a decision has been taken, or whatever it happens to be, it is just one of those things. When that moment comes, it's part of the journey of life."

Coulthard is currently the most successful British driver participating in Formula One, with 13 victories to his name from 236 starts, after he was plunged into the sport in the most tragic of circumstances, following the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994.