David Coulthard shares what he thinks Mark Webber told Oscar Piastri before the Italian Grand Prix

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McLaren’s antics were the biggest talking point of the Italian Grand Prix but not for the reasons team principal Andrea Stella would have wanted.

After qualifying, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had set the team up to go on and take the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

They locked out the front row and after negotiating the first corner successfully, should have been in a position to control the race.

Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case, with Piastri diving down the inside of Norris to take the lead but this put the Brit behind Charles Leclerc.

Norris managed to undercut the Monegasque driver but McLaren’s strategy once again cost them – albeit with the input of their drivers – as Norris and Piastri failed to utilise their new tyres after the second stop to catch Leclerc.

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

David Coulthard was talking to Channel 4 after the race and addressed the biggest talking point of the race – Piastri’s overtake on Norris.

It was a sign that Piastri had little interest in Norris’s championship efforts according to Martin Brundle.

The papaya rules McLaren introduced worked but not in the way Norris would have liked as he couldn’t close the gap to his teammate to try and re-overtake him.

Coulthard thinks Piastri’s manager Mark Webber might have had a word with his protégé before the race.

He has plenty of experience of what it’s like to end up being a second driver at a dominant team.

David Coulthard explains what Mark Webber might have said to Oscar Piastri before Monza

Watching back Piastri’s move on Norris during the opening lap, Coulthard: “Wow, I think there’s a bit of Aussie grit getting in there.

“Our buddy Mark Webber’s got in his ear and said, ‘Buddy, you’ve got to try and turn this around and make it difficult for the team,’

“Brave, brave, brave pass around the outside.”

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

Coulthard then talked about McLaren’s struggling rivals Red Bull and added: “We know that he’s [Max Verstappen] feisty, we know that he’s got a lot of passion.

“Of course, the upside is when you’re winning, everybody loves you but things are not going well, that raw passion comes through again.

“They can control it, there’s no question about it, but they need to unlock some potential in that car.

“The upgrades haven’t worked but it’s still within their capability, they’ve still won seven Grand Prix this year.”

David Coulthard sees positives for McLaren despite missing out on victory

Webber was essential to Red Bull winning four Constructors’ Championships during his time with the team.

However, he was forced to play second fiddle to Sebastian Vettel during that time and while he played the supporting role brilliantly, he would have aspired to achieve much more.

Webber will also be aware that team instructions only go so far after the infamous Multi 21 incident during the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Coulthard saw positives for McLaren even if neither won the race, but Webber may be aiming to make sure Piastri isn’t simply seen as Norris’s number two for the rest of the year and beyond.

When they were running first and second after Leclerc’s pit stop, Piastri was comfortably able to stay ahead of Norris, highlighting that he was ahead of the Brit on merit.

Whether McLaren allow that to happen for the final eight race weekends of the season is another matter.