David Coulthard says Lando Norris just did something at Imola that immediately reminded him of Max Verstappen

McLaren driver Lando Norris hasn’t had the easiest stretch of races in his bid to become Formula 1 world champion.

After winning the opening Grand Prix in Australia, Lando Norris slowly watched his lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri slip away.

The Australian won a hat-trick of races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami to open up a 16-point gap over Norris when he was at one time 23 points worse off in the drivers’ championship.

Norris has been struggling with McLaren’s car despite the MCL39 having a distinct pace advantage over all of its rivals.

While the two McLaren drivers have been squabbling over victories and pole positions, Red Bull star Max Verstappen has been lurking in the background.

Red Bull delivered an update to Imola that appeared to make an immediate difference in qualifying and Sunday’s race, even if practice required plenty of fine-tuning from the team’s engineers.

The Dutchman took the 65th victory of his Formula 1 career, but David Coulthard spotted one moment from his British rival that was reminiscent of the four-time world champion.

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

David Coulthard compares Lando Norris’ move on Oscar Piastri to Max Verstappen

Coulthard was speaking on Channel 4’s coverage of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix about Norris’ second-place finish and his move on Piastri in the closing stages of the race and said: “Yeah, I think again this was so important for Lando.

“He’s been a little bit on the back foot the last few races, that was Max Verstappen-esque.

“Not to take anything away from Lando’s big achievements in Formula 1 so far, but to come with the DRS, he’s positioned on the outside, but he has to commit, and he has to take that kerb and go all the way around the outside.

“Oscar was close to touching him, you see just as he comes off the kerb, he has to make a correction and heart-in-mouth stuff for the McLaren management.

“But really, really important for Lando.”

Asked if that move on Piastri would boost Norris’ confidence levels, Coulthard continued: “It’s so fickle!

“The emotional mind of the athlete, that has just given him a big boost going into Monaco.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

McLaren face Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris conundrum as Max Verstappen approaches

The last thing McLaren team principal Andrea Stella needed was Verstappen and Red Bull to take a step forward at Imola.

There is already uncertainty surrounding how McLaren, and the rest of the grid, will be impacted by the upcoming changes to the rules surrounding front wings in Spain.

Red Bull think McLaren could be penalised by the changes, although Stella is confident that won’t be the case.

The issue for Stella is that both Norris and Piastri want to win the drivers’ championship this season, and McLaren appear keen to let them both race.

However, all this is doing is letting Verstappen close the gap and with Yuki Tsunoda out of the equation, Red Bull can throw all of their weight behind the Dutchman.

Damon Hill has warned McLaren about their team orders and what they need to do going forward.

It’s up to Norris to take further inspiration from Verstappen and establish himself as McLaren’s number-one driver this season.

The way Piastri is driving this year, that’s not going to be an easy task to complete.