Formula One has undergone its biggest change for 25 years. The cars have been subject to a massive aerodynamic overhaul, slick tyres have been reintroduced and new speed boost system KERS is making its debut.

And for the first time in 15 years, David Coulthard will be missing from the grid.

The Scot, who retired at the end of last season and who turns 38 on Friday, will instead start his new role as part of the team for the return of F1 to the BBC at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Coulthard is no stranger to controversy and the winner of 13 Grands Prix admits a fear of upsetting people will not hold him back.

"I'll just say it as I see it," he said. "I've not been brought in to mouth off, be controversial and upset people - that's not my aim. But it's obvious that a lot of people won't necessarily agree with my views. I just hope I can entertain but I'll probably mess it up!"

The former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull driver remembers being glued to the screen as a young boy watching F1 on the BBC at his parents' home in Twynholm, Scotland.

"The BBC got me into motorsport. It was my own outlet into the crazy world of F1 and I lived for the races on Sunday," he recalled. "So it'll actually feel a bit strange being a part of it - although not as strange as not driving."

Coulthard's retirement has left champion Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button as the sole Britons vying for the world championship.

A few weeks ago, Hamilton was the front-runner to defend that title but a rollercoaster series of pre-season tests has seen Button marked out as favourite for victory in Melbourne while Hamilton appears to be struggling to have the pace to even finish on the podium, let alone top it.

The lap times in testing of Brawn GP have surprised many since coming back from the brink of extinction in their former guise as Honda following a late management buy-out led by Ross Brawn. But Coulthard is not among them.

"Some people just give off a winning mentality and Ross bloody oozes it," he said. "He's clearly done a phenomenal job and produced a sensationally quick car but, can they sustain it, who knows?"

Button, Brawn GP's lead driver, has had his critics in the past, lambasting him for his playboy lifestyle and his underachievement since bursting onto the scene as a rookie at Williams nine years ago.

But Coulthard feels the criticism is unwarranted and that his close friend will finally get a chance to shine.

"A lot of people say that Jenson's time has been and gone but that's rubbish," said the Scot, whose best championship finish was second in 2001. "He's quick, focused and in supreme physical condition. Can he win races this season? Of that, there's no question. Can he win the title? That's a big ask but he has the ability to do it.

"He'll need things to go his way but to my mind we've yet to see the best from Jenson as a driver and he's finally got a car that can fight it out at the front."

The build-up to the season could not have been more different for Hamilton, whose McLaren outfit admit they do not have a car currently capable of race wins. However, Coulthard is confident his former team have the resources to comfortably turn things around.

"People shouldn't read too much into what's happened to McLaren in pre-season," he added. "They've had problems but they've had that in the past and they've bounced back and there's no question Lewis can be world champion again in 2009. He is an exceptional driver who has the potential to go down as one of the all-time greats, and he and the team will be busting a gut to sort it all out.

"Lewis knows what he wants from the car - what he expects - and I love the way he goes about his business, it's very impressive. Since winning the world title, he seems so calm as he knows no one can ever take that title from him.

"I honestly don't know how difficult it will be to defend his world title as I never won one but a phenomenal talent like Sir Jackie Stewart couldn't do it so it's clearly not straightforward. Then again, more recently, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso managed it and he's at least as good as those three at the wheel."