Montoya: McLaren need to let Oscar and Lando compete

With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked in a tense fight for the Drivers’ Championship, Montoya says the team must loosen the reins and let them race and ditch the team orders.

The former McLaren F1 driver said: “They need to let them compete against each other. You still need to be a unified team, and you still need to have the ultimate goal, that is to win as a team. That is really important. I think Stella does an amazing job keeping the whole thing together. But in the races, they need to let them be more flexible.”

Montoya praised Andrea Stella’s leadership and McLaren’s internal unity but noted that such harmony could be tested as the championship nears its climax: “McLaren understands that everybody working together is for the benefit of the team and the long-term benefit of the team.

"That's really important but they're stuck in a really difficult situation. For the individual drivers, they know that this might be it; this might be the only chance in their careers of being a World Champion.”

Montoya warned of the dangers of playing it safe in the title run-in: “You don't want to go home at the end of the race in Abu Dhabi thinking, ‘Man, I was too nice. I was going to pass this guy, and I didn't because I didn't want to piss anyone off.’ That's not Formula 1, you've got to go for it."

He added that McLaren’s best route forward is to maintain mutual respect between their drivers: “The best way for them is to reinforce the need for the drivers to respect each other from now to the end of the year.

"Remember that you're still going to be working together next year and we need the best partnership possible. So go at it, have fun but be respectful. Race hard but race with respect," advises Montoya, a seven-time Grand Prix winner, Indycar Champion and Indy 500 winner.

Turning his attention to Piastri, Montoya believes the Australian’s poise is being tested under title-fight conditions. “The pressure is getting to him and it's getting to everybody and it's normal. Everybody said Oscar never had an issue with pressure.

"He was so self-assured. But Oscar has never been fighting for an F1 world championship before. This is a different league. This is a 24-race season. He is centre stage of this great drama playing out.”

Montoya also addressed speculation linking Piastri to Ferrari, comparing the rumours to Toto Wolff’s past attempts to unsettle rivals: “The big question there is it just people stirring the pot, making stories up.

At the end of the day, it's a great way of stirring the pot and causing problems for McLaren. It's a little like what Toto did with Max. Did he have a genuine chance of getting Max? Who knows. But it made headlines.

"The story about Piastri and Ferrari could be coming from Red Bull, for example. Somebody at Red Bull could be going. This would be a great leak, just to stir up the pot and destabilise McLaren.’ But at the same time, if you think Oscar is really good and know other teams want him, then this is a great way of saying on behalf of Oscar to McLaren, ‘If you want me, you got to respect me.’ But for McLaren today, the team is above the driver.”

Montoya believes Stella’s emphasis on harmony means internal politics would not be tolerated. “With Andrea Stella it's all about the harmony. And if somebody's breaking that harmony, it doesn't matter how good he is, it would not be a right fit for McLaren today."

The 50-year-old Colombian motorsport veteran continued: “You can go internally and call Zak and say, ‘Hey, I didn't say anything, we're not talking to anybody, it's more the media talking.’ But on the other side, if somebody asks you publicly about it, you go, ‘No, I didn't say anything,’ and play it down.”

Montoya believes Norris’s long association with McLaren gives him an edge within the team. “I think Lando because he's got more history in the team. He's been there, he came up with the team. When he joined McLaren, McLaren wasn't where it needed to be. A

"And I think he's got a really good relationship with Zak. If Oscar becomes world champion, then things might change. But today, they might be equal and everything, but the value of Lando is still higher than Oscar.”

He suggested that the title picture could shift dramatically depending on Austin’s outcome: “Actually, if Oscar can go and make a dent on Lando in Austin for instance, Lando might give up. I think Lando keeps taking points away and is chipping away point by point, but if Oscar could go and take five or seven points in the next two races, then I think Lando might go, ‘Oh, it's impossible.’”

Montoya also believes Norris’s more aggressive approach is unsettling Max Verstappen. “Lando is not playing Mr. Nice Guy and it's starting to bother Max. When did Max last talk about Lando before? Look at Monza turn one, Lando didn't back out. Look at qualifying. Lando wasn't even close to Max, but he said he’d ruined his lap. If he’s not in your head, you don't talk about it.”

He continued: “It's not a big thing, but it's in the back of his mind. Six months ago, if Lando was behind Max, Max was calm that Lando wasn't going to pass him. Where I think today, they go into a braking zone and Max will look in the mirror waiting to see if Lando is going to dive bomb or not.

"I think that has changed. That is to Lando’s credit because the one criticism perhaps was that he wasn’t stepping up. Now he is, and that is really good to see," he concluded.

Montoya’s comments come as McLaren arrive in Austin as Formula 1 Constructors’ Champions, with both Norris and Piastri contenders for the F1 Drivers’ crown. As the Papaya team shift focus fully to individual glory, all eyes will be on whether Brown and Stella their two drivers off the leash.