David Coulthard believes both McLaren drivers lack one ‘killer’ Michael Schumacher attribute

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Every Formula 1 driver dreams of entering the pantheon of the sport’s greatest drivers, and McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have the chance to enter the conversation over the next few weeks.

Max Verstappen became the 34th driver to win the drivers’ championship in 2021 and has dominated the sport ever since.

However, unless he pulls off a remarkable comeback, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri will take his crown over the final three races of the 2025 season.

McLaren will simply be hoping that one of their drivers gets over the line, but both will have dreams of matching the records set by the sport’s greatest drivers.

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher hold the record for seven world championships each.

However, David Coulthard has admitted Schumacher had one ‘killer’ attribute that he’s yet to see in either Norris or Piastri.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1 legend Michael Schumacher from net worth to career stats

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lack Michael Schumacher’s ‘killer instinct’

Coulthard was speaking about the championship battle on the Pit Talk Podcast with his former Red Bull teammate, Robert Doornbos.

He explained when talking about the sport’s most exceptional drivers: “Well, one of them, I believe, will be the champion because even though it’s theoretically possible that Max can come back and win in Abu Dhabi, it would be an unbelievable Hollywood movie if it happened.

“If anyone can make it happen, Max is that person. But I think, as we saw in Mexico, there’s still an underlying performance advantage in certain circumstances with the McLaren.

“I think that neither Lando nor Oscar has shown that kind of Schumacher, Senna, Verstappen-esque, let’s say, killer instinct.

“But that’s not at all that they don’t have what’s necessary to win Grand Prix and to win championships. Clearly, they’ve shown that.

“I would say that Lewis is the outrider of those greats. Your Sennas, Verstappens, Schumachers.

“You’ve got Lewis, who’s actually had a very uncontroversial career, very clean in many ways.

“He had the contact with Max at Silverstone in 2021, which was probably him saying, ‘Look, enough’s enough, I’m not giving, I’m not lifting’, which obviously led to a very big accident for Max.

“Other than that, I don’t really remember Lewis being involved in many controversial incidents.”

READ MORE: David Coulthard thinks he’s spotted ‘subconscious bias’ towards Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri at McLaren

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have already been compared to some of F1’s greatest drivers

Although Coulthard doesn’t see Schumacher in either of McLaren’s drivers, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been compared to some legendary F1 stars.

Earlier in the season, Alain Prost responded after being compared to Piastri, with the Australian’s calm and calculated demeanour also being equated to ‘The Iceman’, Kimi Raikkonen.

Prost’s biggest rival in Formula 1 was Ayrton Senna, although their time together at McLaren played out very differently from the papaya rules on show this season.

Norris has been compared to Senna this year, but will hope he doesn’t need to resort to the same tactics as the Brazilian on the final day of the season to clinch his first title.

It’s easy to see why Coulthard included Verstappen in the same bracket as Schumacher.

And while the McLaren pair might be more similar to Hamilton, they need a lot more wins under their belt before they’re considered to be in the same category.