Red Bull rotation could bench Coulthard

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has confirmed he will continue to rotate his drivers this season and that could spell bad news for David Coulthard. Red Bull test driver and Formula 3000 Champion Vitantonio Liuzzi will be swapping places with regular driver Christian Klien throughout the season, with the first switch having taken place at this past weekend’s San Marino GP. Horner plans to reverse that swap after race six, the Monaco GP, in late May as he continues working on grooming two stars of the future.

"We are not afraid to use the Chelsea-style rotation system but the driver line-up is fixed for the next three races," he said. “This is a building year for Red Bull." But if both Klien and Liuzzi excel, Coulthard could find he has no place at Red Bull in 2006.

The Scot claims Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz was "misquoted" when he was reported earlier in the season to have revealed that Klien and Liuzzi will be Red Bull’s two race drivers next year. However, Coulthard, whose points-scoring run came to an end on Sunday at Imola, does admit that his future is unclear. "The truth is that I don't have a contract for next year," the 34-year-old said. "That was my choice when I signed up, because there was no better options at the time. At the right time we will talk about the future and if we come to an agreement we will make an announcement." Planet F1