These days, Mark Webber is hardly ever seen in public as manager alongside Oscar Piastri, for David Coulthard this is a logical step
In the Up to Speed podcast, David Coulthard described Mark Webber’s public retirement as Oscar Piastri’s manager as a “natural progression”.
After many years at Piastri’s side, the former Red Bull driver will not be seen around the McLaren driver on Grand Prix weekends this year. It should be noted that despite this decision, Webber will continue to act as manager of the third-placed driver in the 2025 Drivers’ Championship.
“Well, I’m not a fly on the wall, but it feels like Mark and his wife Ann have not only gone out of their way to get Oscar into Formula 1, but not to get him into Formula 1 with Alpine, where he was supposed to be racing,” said Coulthard.
The case between Alpine, McLaren, Piastri and Webber had made headlines during the 2022 summer break. After all, it was once assumed that Piastri would race for the pink and blue team from Enstone and not for the papaya team from Woking.
This move set the stage for the subsequent battle for the 2025 World Championship, in which Piastri narrowly missed out on the title.
Coulthard continues: “So they brought him to McLaren, helped him at the beginning of his journey as a Grand Prix driver and publicly wrestled with him about whether McLaren’s approach, decided by the CEO, the board, the team principal, was the right approach to present racing to us.”.
Here Coulthard alludes to the so-called Papaya Rules. McLaren’s desire to treat both drivers equally throughout the season caused a stir among fans and the trade press. In the end, far from all the criticism and malice, they were able to secure both world championship titles.
While Coulthard is not criticizing the team’s decision, the Scot stresses that Webber’s withdrawal after such a dispute is anything but surprising:
“I think that once you’ve had a tussle like that, or to use Mark Webber’s phrase, thrown yourself into the trenches with Oscar at his first chance at the title, then I think the desire to withdraw and let him do his thing is inevitable. Nobody can sit in the car with the driver.”
Ironically, Coulthard calls his old teammate Mika Häkkinen and his manager Keke Rosberg. Again, Rosberg had decided to let Häkkinen go his own way, and with complete success.
“I don’t think Mark retired from motorsport to suddenly be on hand for 24 Grand Prix races – not to hold Oscar’s hand, but to guide him through good times and bad. So, I think it’s just a natural progression to this new set-up that Mark and Ann continue to be involved in.”
Coulthard in particular should know the Australian very well. They both raced for Red Bull in Formula 1 in 2007 and 2008.
In the current standings, Piastri is only in sixth place after three races, 51 points behind world championship leader Kimi Antonelli.