RACE ace David Coulthard is about to end his life in the fast lane by marrying his model girlfriend, pals predict.
The former Grand Prix playboy has fuelled the speculation about wedding bells by speaking for the first time about his love for Brazilian Simone Abdelnour.
On a trip to Brazil to meet towel heiress Simone's family, he praised her beauty and her warmth.
After his bitter split with former fiancee Heidi Wichlinski, also a model, a year ago, Coulthard was seen with a string of beauties for a few months.
He was first spotted with Simone last April, but he has now signalled that he is serious about her by inviting her to move into his luxury apartment in Monaco.
Simone's Brazilian friends now believe she may have finally tamed the famous bachelor and predict a wedding is in the offing.
The couple now share the pounds 1.5million apartment, in the upmarket Fontvielle area of Monaco, which Coulthard had completely redecorated after Heidi moved out.
And Coulthard, originally from Twynholm, Dumfriesshire, spent most of the Christmas holidays with Simone in her home country.
The pair were spotted enjoying the nightclubs of Sao Paulo before heading to the holiday island of Angra dos Reis, where the late Grand Prix great Ayrton Senna had a holiday home.
They seemed besotted with each other as they took to the dance floor, with Simone looking stunning in a low-cut designer dress.
Locals said the pair looked completely in love when they arrived at the beautiful island of Angra, which is a haven for toucans and other exotic wildlife.
Coulthard certainly sounded in the mood to settle down when asked about the couple's plans.
He said: "Simone is a woman who is full of qualities. Besides her beauty, she is full of warmth, a companion and friend.
"She is a wonderful girlfriend.
"It is not easy for a woman to accompany a Formula 1 racing driver.
"There are constant trips and lots of people - men and women - after us. But she understands my world."
His public declaration of love comes just months after he signalled that his enthusiasm for the single life was in no danger of waning.
He said then: "It doesn't matter whether you're married, single, or bonking everything that is available.
"As long as you're happy in your head, that's all that matters. Just go for it."
Simone's dad Joao made his fortune in towel manufacture, but died when Simone was aged just one and a half.
She was brought up by her mother Daisy and an aunt and travelled to Paris at a very early age to become a model.
Simone told a Brazilian magazine recently: "I think it is really lovely that David came to visit Brazil because now he is gettting to know a bit about me, my friends and my life.
"He was presented to my friends and my family and this has reinforced our relationship."
She went on: "Everyone found David to be very nice.
"It was good to show him different things, a side of Brazil that most tourists don't get to know. He loved every minute of it and was surprised by the state of Sao Paulo, which is a region that reminds him of Scotland, only with sun."
During their visit to Angra, the couple stayed with Helcius Pitanguy, 40, who is the son of a famous plastic surgeon Ivo, 75.
David charmed his Brazilian hosts and tactfully refused to be drawn into saying whether he preferred Sao Paulo or Rio.
The rivalry between the two cities echoes that of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
It was his first visit to Simone's country apart from when he has been competing in Grand Prix races there. He said: "I always used to arrive on the night before the race.
"I love the night life in Sao Paulo and Rio has an exuberant nature, which reminds me of Monaco, only it is more beautiful.
"And I think it's fantastic that Angra is near Rio and Sao Paulo."
Coulthard's passion for Brazil and the Brazilians is returned, with Simone's aunt Sonia giving him a big thumbs-up.
However, she has also stressed that she believes he is a very lucky man to have landed her niece.
She said: "Simone has always been a very hardworking and beautiful girl."