Coulthard voices McLaren team orders criticism and offers a solution

16:04, 06 Jan

Updated: 17:21, 06 Jan

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byKada Sarkozi

David Coulthard believes a key aspect of McLaren's team orders has to change in the future.

"That bond between the driver and the engineer for me has to be absolute."

- David Coulthard

Throughout the 2025 campaign, McLaren was frequently asked about its team orders decision, largely due to the so-called 'papaya rules'.

Speaking in The Red Flags Podcast, the former McLaren driver explained what he would like to see change moving forward. His criticism is that the race engineer should not be the person handing out such orders.

He began: "I think that when they do give 'move over, don't race' type instructions, that should come from the team principal or the sporting director.

"That bond between the driver and the engineer for me has to be absolute. If you guys are in the trenches together and someone blows the whistle back in the day to go out and fight the enemy, you've got to know that you're both going at the same time.

"You're not hiding, you're there shoulder to shoulder. So that relationship between driver and engineer has to be unbreakable, that bond.

"The driver should absolutely believe that his engineer, would say 'that's not my job.' 'My job is to get my driver winning and I will only give instructions that can help that.'"

Coulthard added that during his time with the team, his race engineer never told him such instructions.

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