London, Oct 29 : Former Formula One racing driver David Coulthard has warned that the new Abu Dhabi circuit’s shortened run-off areas could see ambitious racers pay for their mistakes during the final race of the season on Sunday.

David Coulthard doesn’t mince words. Apart from this quality, the former Formula One driver, who retired last year after 15 years in sport, but remains a consultant to the Red Bull racing team, has a keen sense of humour that was evident in the way he had groups of students in roars of laughter at the auditorium of a private university here. Even as he parried questions from keen students, he took out time for an interview with the Hindustan Times. Excerpts:

David Coulthard is one of the select few to have participated in more than 200 Formula One races, but a few minutes drive on the roads here was enough for him to conclude that this is different.

“I think driving here would need a special technique,” the Scot remarked tongue firmly in cheek apparently dazed by the state of traffic and the driving habits.

It will be a different story on Sunday, though. The traffic will be held up for a couple of hours on the newest city landmark, the Bandra-Worli sealink, to enable the erstwhile F1 driver to vroom across it in a team Red Bull car singeing in the vicinity of 225 kmph.