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

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McLaren have had to deal with a lot of people in Formula 1 wondering whether they’re favouring one of their drivers over the other.

Unless Max Verstappen produces one of the greatest comebacks in F1 history, a McLaren driver will win the drivers’ championship for the first time since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

Lando Norris currently has a 24-point lead over Oscar Piastri in the championship with three rounds remaining.

The championship lead has changed hands twice, with Piastri 23 points behind after the opening round in Australia, and then 34 points ahead of Norris after winning the Dutch Grand Prix.

Paddock insiders believe McLaren are favouring Norris over Piastri, and from the outside, it does look like more decisions have gone in the British driver’s favour over the course of the 2025 campaign.

David Coulthard knows a lot about McLaren team orders from his Formula 1 career, and has now shared why there might be ‘subconscious bias’ towards Norris within the Woking-based outfit.

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

David Coulthard thinks Lando Norris is experiencing ‘subconscious bias’ at McLaren

Coulthard was speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast about the situation within McLaren. He said: “I think they’ve both been given an opportunity in equal machinery and all of that side of things.

“So, as a race driver, what’s the first thing that you want? You want equal opportunity.

“You want equal number one status to then go out and deliver. I think there’s probably a subconscious bias.

“It’s very difficult for anyone not to subconsciously be slightly more drawn to one or the other individual, either based on knowledge and experience, and Lando’s been there for longer.

“So, in Vegas, he’ll have done 150 Grand Prix for McLaren. And I’m very aware of that because I did 150 Grand Prix for McLaren. So from Vegas on, he’ll be the most experienced McLaren driver.

“Oscar’s what, in his third season with the team. So, the real question is, is there anything that management can do to offset that?

“And it’s very, very difficult because all you can do is give equal opportunity.

“I think that in their desire to manage and to do things the right way, life is imperfect, and in the spotlight of Formula 1, even if you’ve got the best intentions and you try your best to do things as fairly as possible, you’re going to get it wrong occasionally.”

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

Lando Norris set to match David Coulthard’s McLaren appearance record at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Coulthard is a McLaren legend, and while he never won a championship, he was only thwarted by Mika Hakkinen.

Martin Brundle once rated Hakkinen over Michael Schumacher, highlighting what a difficult task the Scottish driver had.

The debate over whether Coulthard and Hakkinen or Norris and Piastri is a stronger combination of drivers has to be reserved for when the current pair have retired.

But the Las Vegas Grand Prix will see Norris match Coulthard’s record of 150 starts for McLaren.

A victory for Norris will also see him match Coulthard’s tally of 12 wins while racing for McLaren, but he will hope he can add that elusive championship victory that the 54-year-old never managed.