David Coulthard now fears ‘one issue’ is ‘looming’ for McLaren after what he saw from Lando Norris across the 2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old became a Formula 1 race winner for the first time in his career in Florida. It was almost the perfect fortnight for Norris, too, when the pinnacle of motorsport hit Imola last week. But his late bid for back-to-back wins fell 0.725 seconds shy of Max Verstappen.
Norris nursed his tyres better than the Red Bull racer in the Emilia Romagna GP to eat heaps of time out of Verstappen’s lead. Yet the Briton’s charge came possibly only one lap too late to make a pass. But Norris has proven the upgrades McLaren took to the Miami GP worked.
David Coulthard fears McLaren will face an ‘issue’ if they continue to fight for wins
McLaren effectively unveiled a B-spec car at Hard Rock Stadium. The Woking crew designed a new front wing, front suspension geometry, front brake duct and winglet, floor, bodywork and engine covers. Oscar Piastri only got his team’s fully upgraded MCL38 at the Imola race.
Piastri also put McLaren’s upgrades to hard work at the Emilia Romagna GP to threaten Red Bull and Verstappen for pole position. He lapped Imola just 0.074 seconds slower in Q3 than the 26-year-old. But the 23-year-old started in P5 after his three-place penalty for impeding.
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The stewards penalised Piastri after blocking Kevin Magnussen at Tamburello during Q1. The penalty also gave Norris a front-row start, rather than Piastri. Now, Coulthard fears McLaren will soon have a problem if they continue to offer Piastri and Norris a car that can win races.
Coulthard said on the Formula For Success podcast: “The one issue they may have looming down the line is if and when they consistently are challenging for race victories.
“Another lap, [Norris] may well have found himself in a situation to challenge Max. It would have taken a very committed move to take away a victory from Max.”
Oscar Piastri will believe he can beat Lando Norris for Grand Prix wins
McLaren have not had a problem on their hands with Piastri and Norris, yet, as their car was not a true race-winner. But the upgrades the team took to Miami have taken McLaren into a position to challenge Red Bull. Now, Coulthard is right to fear friction growing in the garage.
READ MORE: 5 unforgettable Emilia Romagna GP moments, with Bottas and Russell’s crash
Piastri will want to win a Grand Prix now that Norris has one victory over him. The Australian was also in front of the Briton during the Miami GP before Norris ran longer in the first stints and gained from the safety car. Piastri’s drive also fell apart due to contact with Carlos Sainz.
So, Piastri will feel he has now missed two opportunities for a race win, of which Norris took one across the line. The Australian also won the Sprint at the Qatar GP in 2023 in a straight fight with Verstappen after beating Norris to pole position. So, he will have nothing to fear.
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