Coulthard has won 13 Grands Prix during his career

The Scot lost his seat at McLaren to Juan Pablo Montoya at the end of last season, but impressed his new bosses in testing in Spain last week.

Coulthard, 33, has won 13 races in his 11 years in Formula One.

Red Bull, the Austrian drinks maker who took over Jaguar in November, will decide who to name as their second driver in January.

"After speaking to team owner Dietrich Mateschitz I was impressed by Red Bull Racing's plans for the future. This is definitely an exciting new team," Coulthard told Austrian news agency APA.

Coulthard visited the team's Milton Keynes factory on Monday for a technical debrief with engineers.

And his chances of extending his F1 career were boosted when Red Bull managing director David Pitchforth said the Scot had "all the experience and ability to take the team forward".

"Having an experienced driver is a no-brainer," Pitchforth added.

Coulthard is second only to Michael Schumacher among active drivers in terms of race victories, but his last win was the opening race of the 2003 season in Melbourne.

His best finish last season was fourth at Hockenheim in Germany.

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien are the other drivers in the frame for a Red Bull seat.