Coulthard Urges McLaren to Rethink Team Orders to Protect Driver-Engineer Bond

Former F1 driver David Coulthard has criticized McLaren's protocol for issuing team orders, arguing it risks damaging the crucial relationship between a driver and their race engineer. He believes that strategic commands, such as asking a driver to hold position, should come directly from team principal Andrea Stella rather than the engineer. Coulthard's comments come after a 2025 season where McLaren's 'papaya rules' allowed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to race freely for both championships.

Why it matters:

The driver-engineer relationship is one of the most critical and intimate partnerships in F1, built on absolute trust and constant communication. If a driver feels their engineer is not 100% committed to their individual success, it can create psychological friction and undermine performance on track. For a top team like McLaren, managing the internal dynamics between two championship-caliber drivers is as important as the car's performance; Coulthard's suggestion offers a framework to maintain long-term harmony.

The details:

• The "Unbreakable Bond": Coulthard likened the driver-engineer dynamic to soldiers in a trench, requiring absolute trust and a shared focus on the same objective. He argued that having an engineer deliver a "hold position" order compromises this trust, making the engineer seem like they are not "shoulder to shoulder" with their driver.
• Proposed Chain of Command: The former driver believes strategic instructions that benefit the team over the individual driver should be the responsibility of the team principal or sporting director. This insulates the engineer from being the bearer of bad news.
• Engineer's Focus: Coulthard envisions a scenario where an engineer's primary allegiance is clear: "My job is to get my driver winning." Any team-level orders would be deferred to a higher authority, thus preserving the engineer's role as the driver's dedicated advocate.

Looking Ahead:

While McLaren's approach clearly didn't stop them from dominating the 2025 season, Coulthard's advice highlights a potential long-term risk to team cohesion that could surface under pressure. As the team prepares to defend its titles, it's plausible that Andrea Stella and the leadership will consider refining their internal communication protocols. This issue isn't unique to McLaren; any top team with two number-one-level drivers must carefully navigate the fine line between healthy competition and destructive internal politics.