Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Don 1996, Coulthard ya haɗu da gogaggen direba Mika Häkkinen a McLaren, kuma ya yi imanin cewa akwai damar lashe tsere, kodayake ƙalubalen Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya ba zai yiwu ba har zuwa 1997 ko 1998. Lokacinsa ya fara da mummunan rauni; ya sha wahala daga matsalar bugun jini a Ostiraliya, gami da karo da direba na Jordan Martin Brundle a zagaye na farko. Coulthard ya juya a Brazil kuma ya gama a waje da maki a Argentina
Ka yi haƙuri. Koyaya, Coulthard ya sami matsayi a Nürburgring kuma ya jagoranci tseren a San Marino kafin ya sami matsalar hydraulic.