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David Coulthard is expected to announce at the British Grand Prix that he will retire from racing in Formula One at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old Scot, who has won 13 races in a 14-year career, has admitted recently to considering his future.
He is participating in an official news conference at Silverstone on Thursday and may make the announcement there.
Coulthard, who has driven for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in F1, was unavailable for comment.
It is not known whether he will continue to be involved in the sport, although newspapers have speculated that he might take on a role as a TV commentator with the BBC next season.
He might also have the option of continuing with his Red Bull team as a consultant and occasional test driver, in a similar fashion to the role his former rival Michael Schumacher has at Ferrari.
Coulthard has made it clear ahead of the British Grand Prix that he still loves driving F1 cars, but admitted it was to be expected that people should question his future in the sport.
"The longest contract I have ever had in F1 has been a two-year contract, every other one has been a year-by-year deal, therefore you always have to think this might be the last time," he said in pre-race interviews last week.
"It's relevant to ask the question because I'm the oldest driver and there is a lot of speculation about my future, but the age thing is not the factor for me.
"What is relevant is to ask if I deliver value and do I have the motivation. I do.
Coulthard won 13 races, including this one in Brazil in 2001
"I'm not looking back nostalgically to the days when I was 21 and had abs and was going out with whomever. I still wake up in the morning raring to go.
"I do look at where I am today and think how lucky I am. I could have been killed in 2000 when my plane crashed, I could have been killed at various other points of my life during the journey I have been on, but I'm still here.
"I don't need to be sitting here. I could do so many other things and I'm excited about what that might be when the point comes.
"When I'm 50 I want to get in a campervan and drive around the world, or do the same in a boat.
"Because of having been a successful racing driver I have the resources to make decisions that normal people don't get the chance to make because they have to work till 65.
"I have had a great career - better to be a has-been than a never-been. F1 is unique no question, but it is wrong to say nothing can replace that. There are a lot of people who live exciting, adrenalin-filled lives who aren't Grand Prix drivers."
Coulthard, who won the British Grand Prix in 1999 and 2000, began his F1 career in 1994, when he was promoted from his role as test driver at Williams following the death of Ayrton Senna.
This plane crash in 2000 changed Coulthard's perspective on life
He won his first race in Portugal in 1995, and moved to McLaren for 1996.
He spent much of his career there in the shadow of Mika Hakkinen, who won the world title in 1998 and '99 when Coulthard was his team-mate.
But the best season of his career came in 2001 when he finished second in the drivers' standings to a dominant Michael Schumacher.
Coulthard admits to not having the consistency of the greatest drivers, but, at his best, he had the beating of Hakkinen, and has driven many memorable races in his career.
The 37-year-old Scot, who has won 13 races in a 14-year career, has admitted recently to considering his future.
He is participating in an official news conference at Silverstone on Thursday and may make the announcement there.
Coulthard, who has driven for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in F1, was unavailable for comment.
It is not known whether he will continue to be involved in the sport, although newspapers have speculated that he might take on a role as a TV commentator with the BBC next season.
He might also have the option of continuing with his Red Bull team as a consultant and occasional test driver, in a similar fashion to the role his former rival Michael Schumacher has at Ferrari.
Coulthard has made it clear ahead of the British Grand Prix that he still loves driving F1 cars, but admitted it was to be expected that people should question his future in the sport.
"The longest contract I have ever had in F1 has been a two-year contract, every other one has been a year-by-year deal, therefore you always have to think this might be the last time," he said in pre-race interviews last week.
"It's relevant to ask the question because I'm the oldest driver and there is a lot of speculation about my future, but the age thing is not the factor for me.
"What is relevant is to ask if I deliver value and do I have the motivation. I do.
Coulthard won 13 races, including this one in Brazil in 2001
"I'm not looking back nostalgically to the days when I was 21 and had abs and was going out with whomever. I still wake up in the morning raring to go.
"I do look at where I am today and think how lucky I am. I could have been killed in 2000 when my plane crashed, I could have been killed at various other points of my life during the journey I have been on, but I'm still here.
"I don't need to be sitting here. I could do so many other things and I'm excited about what that might be when the point comes.
"When I'm 50 I want to get in a campervan and drive around the world, or do the same in a boat.
"Because of having been a successful racing driver I have the resources to make decisions that normal people don't get the chance to make because they have to work till 65.
"I have had a great career - better to be a has-been than a never-been. F1 is unique no question, but it is wrong to say nothing can replace that. There are a lot of people who live exciting, adrenalin-filled lives who aren't Grand Prix drivers."
Coulthard, who won the British Grand Prix in 1999 and 2000, began his F1 career in 1994, when he was promoted from his role as test driver at Williams following the death of Ayrton Senna.
This plane crash in 2000 changed Coulthard's perspective on life
He won his first race in Portugal in 1995, and moved to McLaren for 1996.
He spent much of his career there in the shadow of Mika Hakkinen, who won the world title in 1998 and '99 when Coulthard was his team-mate.
But the best season of his career came in 2001 when he finished second in the drivers' standings to a dominant Michael Schumacher.
Coulthard admits to not having the consistency of the greatest drivers, but, at his best, he had the beating of Hakkinen, and has driven many memorable races in his career.
