Why talk of money is just the pits

Nowhere is the relationship between business, glamour, sport, and raw greed more obvious than in Formula One motor racing.

So the Diary was amused to read in last Tuesday’s Daily Mail that Monza Grand Prix winner David Coulthard was interested more in winning than money.

“Maybe I could have earned more money in my career by being more aggressive in some ways,” says the West McLaren Mercedes driver.

This conflicts with the talk in the paddock at Monza, the trackside meeting place at the Italian Grand Prix, which dwelt on Coulthard’s messy legal dispute over his contract with sports agency International Management Group. The reason for the wrangle? Why, he felt that IMG was not finding him enough advertising and endorsement deals.

It seems that Coulthard likes to play fast and loose both on and off the track.