David Coulthard has never been short of superlatives in a racing career that took him to 13 Formula 1 wins and two Monaco Grand Prix victories. But even by his standards, what he experienced in Monte Carlo this weekend sounded like something that briefly short-circuited his vocabulary.
The former F1 star took to the streets of Monaco in Formula E’s new GEN4 machine, a car still officially a season away from competition but already making a solid electric argument for itself among the sport’s most experienced voices.
What followed was a four-lap blast through the glitzy Principality that left Coulthard visibly energized – and, by his own admission, a little overwhelmed.
If Monaco has seen it all – turbo era monsters, hybrid-era precision, and countless qualifying heroics – it apparently still had one more trick to play.
“The most acceleration I've ever experienced around Monaco, and I've won here twice!” said Coulthard, who entered 246 Grands Prix over a glittering career at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing - including twice in Monaco, motor racing's crown jewel.
For a driver who has sampled just about everything combustion engines can offer, that line alone lands like a mic drop wrapped in tyre smoke. And Coulthard wasn’t finished.
“Imagining how I've just driven it compared to what those guys [Formula E drivers] will do with it... They'll experience something nobody has in racing. I'm speechless! What a machine!”
In a paddock where “impressive” is practically a resting state, “speechless” is about as close to spiritual conversion as it gets.
FE’s GEN4 era is already being framed as a step change for the all-electric championship. And Coulthard’s early verdict suggests that might be underselling it.
"You can't compare at all GEN3 to GEN4," he continued. "GEN3 and GEN3 Evo is state of the art for it's time but GEN4 with all-wheel drive; every exit is acceleration like you've never experienced.
"Once you're through an apex you realise the car can take everything you throw at it. It's just not normal. It's redefining what a race car can be.
"I've driven a lot of cars over the years - I have an understanding with what all-wheel drive could feel like but a car under 1000kg with 800+bhp in old money, that's an impressive getaway.
"First time through the tunnel, it was like hyperdrive from Star Wars! I've been through there thousands of times but never like that."
That final image – Monaco’s iconic tunnel reframed as something closer to science fiction than street circuit – is the kind of comparison engineers will love and physics professors may quietly resent.
Saturday’s showcase wasn’t just a few demo laps for Coulthard. They unfolded in front of a high-profile crowd that included current Formula 1 stars such as Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriele Bortoleto, all watching Formula E’s future take shape in real time.
On track, Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries claimed his first Formula E victory in four years, adding competitive weight to a weekend that already felt like a statement of intent from the championship.
With a second race still to come on Sunday, Monaco’s electric chapter is far from finished. But if Coulthard’s reaction is anything to go by, Formula E’s next era has already found its biggest endorsement – delivered, fittingly, at full throttle through the streets of the world’s most famous street circuit.
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