David Coulthard explains why Lando Norris has just given his F1 rivals a ‘competitive edge’ after the Bahrain Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris currently leads the 2025 Formula 1 world championship, but saw his advantage slashed last weekend.

Oscar Piastri dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix, completing an F1 hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and winning the race for the first time in his career.

Lando Norris admitted that he never felt comfortable in his McLaren across the race weekend, reflected in a poor performance in qualifying that saw him line up on the third row of the grid.

Max Verstappen then spotted Norris’ mistake on the grid after starting outside of his grid box, and while he made up three positions on the opening lap, he picked up a five-second time penalty as a result.

Norris struggled to get past Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during the race, and was ultimately frustrated by George Russell who denied McLaren a famous one-two finish.

Russell’s car was failing beneath him, but never offered Norris the opportunity to overtake him during the closing stages of the race.

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

David Coulthard thinks Lando Norris is giving his F1 rivals a ‘competitive edge’

Former McLaren driver David Coulthard was covering the race in Bahrain for Channel 4 and reflected on Norris’ approach to the weekend.

Coulthard was asked how Norris keeps things in perspective after being so negative in the media and said: “I’m all for honesty, but this is the front line of your battle with your competitor, and you’re giving them a competitive edge.

“In poker, you don’t get a great hand and start doing that, or get a bad hand and start crying.

“So, it’s uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable because he’s a brilliant racing driver. He’s leading the world championship.

“And I asked Andrea Stella privately, ‘Who is the person within the team he turns to?’ And he said, ‘I’m the team principal, I have to manage that with the drivers.’

“So, it’s a little blip in what otherwise will be a very competitive season.”

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

Sebastian Vettel sympathises with Lando Norris after the Bahrain Grand Prix

Norris has admitted that he’s finding it difficult to get the most out of this year’s McLaren, despite the fact that its the fastest car on the grid.

It speaks volumes about how far McLaren and Norris have come that he’s not happy with a podium finish, although when his closest rival in the drivers’ championship wins the race in such dominant fashion, it’s not a surprise that that’s playing on his mind.

Sebastian Vettel was talking to Reuters about Norris’ approach to racing and explained: “I think it’s a positive development because we are normal people.

“We do have normal problems just like everybody else.

“Heroism is fine, but it’s also part of the heroism to just talk about your problems and your weakness. I think that’s a great development to see and to witness and, you know, real role models.”

Norris didn’t look happy in the paddock in Bahrain, and a change of approach might be required as he enters the final race of the triple header in Saudi Arabia.

He proved in Australia and in Japan that he’s got a slight advantage over Piastri under certain conditions.

Norris now needs to rediscover that advantage over the next few races and extend his lead in the championship, otherwise he’ll once again be chasing another driver down, something he struggled with up against Verstappen last year.