Oscar Piastri sends Lando Norris a wake up call after strong Suzuka bounce back

At Suzuka, Piastri flipped the early narrative of the 2026 Formula 1 season, delivering a performance that contrasted sharply with his earlier struggles and exposed a shift in intra-team momentum. Prior to that, the Australian had not completed a single Grand Prix lap in 2026, until Japan.

Montoya warned: “Piastri’s mega race is a big wake-up call to Norris. Piastri did a mega job. That was impressive after two no-starts. And I think it's a big wake-up call for Lando with the pace and everything.”

The Colombian pointed to the unpredictable competitive order seen across the field in Japan, where Mercedes rookie Antonelli impressed while Russell faded, and McLaren’s balance of power appeared to reverse.

“It was a strange weekend because Antonelli looked really strong. George didn't and it's been that way around. And Lando looked stronger than Oscar before. And here it was the other way around. Was it a unique thing with this track?”

Montoya cautioned against drawing immediate conclusions, but suggested that confidence dynamics could become decisive, particularly in closely matched pairings: “I think we need to give it time, but if George doesn't break that Antonelli’s confidence, it's going to overrun him pretty bad.”

For McLaren, the same principle applies. Piastri’s resurgence is not being viewed as a one off, but as the result of deliberate structural changes behind the scenes.

Montoya explained: “Piastri had a big shock, no doubt. But I don’t think it was a surprise to him. I think he saw it coming for a while last year. I think you could see it. It wasn’t a surprise that Lando was coming. It was written that you could see it.

"You could see it three or four months out, that he was coming. For Oscar, it was one of those things that you hope doesn't happen. I’m sure Oscar was being told: You can still do it. But it was written in stone.”

The response, according to Montoya, has been decisive and largely mental: “But I think what Oscar did last year, which was really good, was that he made some changes on his side. He brought more different people to help him on his side. Having a better group around you makes a big difference.”

“Mark Webber is still, but he too realised they needed a different kind of support, and I think they brought in engineers and people who knew Oscar. There’s a guy who was in Prema that worked with Oscar in F2 who is there now. He is surrounding himself with the right people. Honestly, 80 % of it is a mental thing.”

With McLaren now facing an internal reset after Suzuka and the sport still debating the direction of its regulations, the next phase of the season will determine whether Piastri’s surge is a turning point or a temporary disruption in what is shaping up to be a tightly contested Formula 1 campaign. (Quotes supplied by Casinostugan)