F1 legend David Coulthard has opened up on his grim battle with eating disorder bulimia, admitting it was something he had to do ‘to make weight’.
The now 55-year-old Scot enjoyed a highly successful career in the sport, winning 13 Grands Prix and finishing runner-up in the 2001 World Drivers’ Championship.
But behind the glamour of the grid and the lavish Monaco lifestyle, Coulthard battled one major problem throughout his career – he was tall at 1.82m (6ft).
The former Williams, Mercedes and Red Bull star raced during an era where every extra pound for an F1 driver was a major penalty. Making weight wasn’t optional, it was obligatory and it left Coulthard with a grim path to the top.
He spoke about that path on the Up To Speed podcast, with a sponsorship deal he once had with Scottish confectionery brand Tunnock’s acting as an unlikely segway.
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‘That’s what bulimia will do’
He told co-host Will Buxton: “That’s what bulimia will do. Well I was bulimic – it’s in my book. But I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m no longer.
“I was tall and I had to make weight so in the same way a jockey would go the sauna, I would go to the bathroom.
“It was tough but I was tall for my generation and I had to keep my weight down so that was my commitment.
“So it wasn’t for let’s say mental health issues that I thought that I needed to be slim. It was for good old-fashioned, like a boxer or a jockey, I needed to make weight.”
F1 rules on weight are more lenient now
Coulthard, now a highly successful broadcaster including regular appearances on Channel 4, was quick to point out that weight concerns for F1 drivers in 2026 are not what they used to be – the rules are now more lenient.
“Thankfully, modern Formula 1 accommodates drivers up to a combined weight of 80 kilos. Back in my day if you were much over 70 you were in deficit.”
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