SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) - David Coulthard heads into the winter not knowing what the future holds for him after ending his nine-year association with McLaren at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The 33-year-old Scot has been on the Formula One grid since the start of 1994 but will be replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren and now faces an anxious wait to see if he has driven in his last Grand Prix.
Coulthard's disappointing 11th place finish in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos could effectively be the end with realistic options for 2005 limited to Williams, the only competitive seat available.
But the 13-time Grand Prix winner, who also runs a hotel business, remains optimistic that this year does not spell the end and said he still has the desire to stay with the Grand Prix circus.
"I don't require a job in the sense that you need a job to put bread on the table. I've been fortunate in my career that that is not the motivation, the motivation is to continue racing," Coulthard.
Coulthard's record stands up to many. Of the drivers in 2004, he is second to only world champion Michael Schumacher in terms of victories, the first of which came with Williams in 1995 before his switch to McLaren the following season.
In his nine seasons with McLaren he has finished on the podium in one of every three Grands Prix but his last victory came at the start of the 2003 season when he led home his future replacement Montoya in Australia.
His best world championship finish came as runner-up to team-mate Mika Hakkinen in 2001, but he has endured a disappointing last two years in which he has been out-performed by young team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Team boss Ron Dennis, who took the decision to bring in Montoya in place of Coulthard, has nothing but praise for the Scot.
"His results in the car are apparent, they are a matter of record," he said.
"It's also very apparent to anybody who has worked with him is that he's a true gentleman and he has been a fantastic ambassador to our team and to the sport in general.
"When you look back on his years with us I think I can count on one hand the times I have seen him annoyed and I can't ever remember him losing his temper. He is a tremendous, talented, well-rounded racing driver."
But Dennis defended his decision to sign Montoya, who has claimed three race victories in four years with Williams, and claimed the hot-headed Colombian has been under-used by his current team.
"There are times within the team when opportunities present themselves and you have to take them," Dennis added.
"It was a decision quickly taken but we believe Juan Pablo will be a better racing driver with our team.
"Juan Pablo is still on the up. There's always a risk with any change but we think it's a very balanced and calculated risk and we believe he will be a better racing driver with the team."
10/25/2004 - 12:19 GMT - AFP