David Coulthard shares the ‘great thing’ for McLaren fans despite Charles Leclerc’s victory at Monza

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McLaren have two weeks to reflect on the most recent race at Monza and wonder what they could have done differently.

After locking out the front row of the grid during the closest qualifying session in Formula 1 history, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri should have been aiming to secure another one-two for the team.

However, a daring early move by Piastri on his teammate going into the second chicane on the opening lap put Norris in a difficult position.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration

Charles Leclerc took full advantage and slotted into second place, running very close to the back of the Australian for much of the race.

Once McLaren decided to pit again, Leclerc had to go for the one-stop strategy and hope that his tyres held on.

Piastri complained about being held up as he hunted the Monegasque driver down but he ran out of time before the chequered flag to re-take the lead.

David Coulthard was analysing the race on Channel 4 and talked about how Leclerc managed to beat both McLarens.

Although Andrea Stella’s team couldn’t maximise their points tally by winning the race, they still made a significant dent in Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

Coulthard believes it’s a ‘great thing’ for McLaren’s fans that the team are so disappointed with two podium finishes.

It shows the progress they’ve made this season as they look to achieve their first title Lewis Hamilton’s Drivers’ Championship in 2008.

David Coulthard explains ‘great thing’ for McLaren fans after missing out on Monza victory

Asked how McLaren didn’t win in Monza, Coulthard said: “By going for two stops.

“The team reached out to the drivers, asked them could they make a one-stop work.

“Lando’s radio message was ‘Front-left tyre’s gone’, Oscar’s message was ‘I don’t think so’, so the team basically worked as a team, it works both ways.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

“You can’t just look at strategy and go, ‘Give me a one-stop’, they did ask the question and the team didn’t believe they could make it work.

“What could have been, splitting them could have been a safer option, it’s easy to criticise afterwards.

“But the great thing is for McLaren fans, they’re disappointed with a 2nd and 3rd, how far have they come?”

Martin Brundle has spotted how Piastri feels about Norris’s title challenge

What’s clear for McLaren is if they’re going to try and win both championships, eventually they need to decide what they’re going to do with Norris and Piastri.

The young Australian is exceptionally fast but Norris has the advantage in the title race with Verstappen and on two occasions now he could have scored more points if Piastri had let him through.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Martin Brundle believes Piastri’s move on Norris shows that he’s not been told that the Brit is the lead driver for the rest of the season.

Instead, McLaren have introduced papaya rules which allow them to race but only in a fair manner.

Whether Norris thinks Piastri’s dive down the inside was fair enough in this situation was another matter.

He lamented that if he had broken a metre later then they would have crashed but those are the fine margins that F1 drivers have to deal with every time they step into the car.