Wha's like us . . . David Coulthard

THE famous story about George Best recalls a hotel worker discovering the legendary footballer in bed one morning with a beauty queen, surrounded by empty champagne bottles and high-denomination bank notes. The dismayed porter, it is said, asked: "George, where did it all go wrong?"

Something similar came to mind when Coulthard announced last week that this season's Formula One season would be his last as a driver. How disappointed was he to be going out having never won the Driver's Championship? How did it feel to have been in the shadow of rivals, first Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, then Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher?

Little wonder that Coulthard looked relaxed as he laughed off the questions. Having amassed an estimated £40m fortune, having won 13 Grand Prix, having spent much of his life in sunny Monaco with a string of beautiful women on his arm, he has good reason to be relaxed and to view his career as a success. Most of us would be quite happy if our lives had gone as badly as David Coulthard's.