David Coulthard reckons Lando Norris winning the 2025 world championship over Oscar Piastri was exactly what McLaren needed, and he's not shy about saying it. Speaking on the Road to Success podcast, the former F1 driver defended the Woking outfit's controversial decisions throughout the season, which ultimately helped Norris claw back from a 34-point deficit to beat his teammate by 13 points. Max Verstappen ended up splitting the McLaren duo in the standings.

More F1 news: Ferrari's Defence of Vasseur Might Be a Bad Sign for the Team Principal

The pair had some genuinely rough moments together last year. Piastri was forced to yield at Monza after Norris got a slow pit stop, but when the British driver made contact while overtaking in Singapore, he stayed ahead anyway. Things got messy again at the US GP Sprint, where Piastri was deemed predominantly at fault for a race-ending incident between them. Coulthard argued that while McLaren might not have deliberately engineered the outcome, having Norris come out on top was simply better for the team's interests.

Coulthard's reasoning is pretty straightforward. He pointed out that Norris has been at McLaren longer than Piastri, he's British, and crucially, he's got way more global recognition after being around the sport since 2019. Piastri, who joined in 2023, represents a smaller market as an Australian driver. According to Coulthard, much of the world wouldn't have known who Piastri was if he'd won the title. Fair or not, that marketability factor carries real weight for a team's commercial prospects.

More F1 news: Ferrari Shuts Down Vasseur Exit Talk with Firm Statement

Things have gotten even more lopsided in 2026. Norris is now 66 points and three positions clear of Piastri in the standings, with the Australian having finished ahead of his teammate just three times all season. Coulthard suspects Piastri is missing the close trackside support of Mark Webber, his manager who's now focused mainly on commercial matters rather than day-to-day racing involvement. There's been speculation that Webber's relationship with McLaren got tense last year over those managerial calls, though Piastri maintains he made his own decisions.

More F1 news: Verstappen and Hamilton at Odds Over F1's 2026 Middle East Finale

The former McLaren and Red Bull driver reckons Webber's reduced visibility could be a real loss for Piastri. Coulthard highlighted how Webber's experience with Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull shows he knows how to help top drivers perform at their best, even if it makes teams uncomfortable sometimes. Whether that's exactly what's behind this year's performance gap remains unclear, but the contrast between last season's tight battle and Norris's current dominance is hard to ignore.

Shop the collection: Max Verstappen merch  •  Lando Norris merch  •  Oscar Piastri merch  •  Sebastian Vettel merch  •  McLaren merch  •  Red Bull Racing merch