Montoya: It’s going to happen again, they’ll run into each other

McLaren drivers dominated last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix and smart money is on the pair continuing their enthralling duel to Silverstone, where Norris will have the hearts of fans at the venue this weekend, and Piastri will be the 'enemy' within.

Advice and speculation have been flying from all quarters. The latest to weigh in on the title contenders is former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya, winner of the 2005 British GP for the Woking team, who sees more bent metal in the future between the two teammates.

Speaking after the Austrian GP, Montoya suggested that McLaren's strategy revealed a growing tension in managing both title contenders: “The McLarens were getting really nervous. I think it’s why they held Oscar out for a couple of laps to lose some time.”

He explained: “I think if they let them do that... the hard thing is, especially at the beginning of the race, I think Lando was quicker and Lando was trying to open the gap. He could get into nine tenths, and then with the free DRS, Oscar would come back.

"Then he got to a point where Lando destroyed the tyre trying to open the gap, and he was getting a little uncomfortable for the team," ventured the Colombian.

Predicting conflict ahead, Montoya added: “It’s going to happen again. They're gonna end up running into each other at some point.”

Montoya was impressed by Norris's weekend overall: “It was nice, honestly. It was a good way for Lando to tell everyone to shut up. It’s funny because in my house, a lot of people cheer for Oscar, and I cheer for Lando."

Montoya continued: "I like both, but I like Lando more. I think Lando's ultimate speed is better than Oscar’s, but Oscar is just more complete. It’s just two different approaches," explained the seven-time Grand Prix winner.

“Lando keeps making mistakes and it brings up a stereotype that he’s doing in his own head. I think he did a really good job this week, especially in qualifying. He did a really good job.”

Montoya noted the contrast in performance between qualifying and race day: “Where it’s funny, when normally Lando’s quicker in the races, I think Oscar's car was much better in the race. So I don’t know the reason why Lando was so quick in qualifying—maybe it sacrificed a little bit of race pace. And this week it was the other way around with Oscar.”

He also pointed to McLaren's energy deployment as a critical issue: “No, I think Oscar didn’t time it well with the energy management. I think they were too much in sync, and they were both recovering the energy at the same time and discharging at the same time.”

Montoya believes Piastri was poised to overtake: “If they don't pit Lando, I think Oscar would have gone through. When Lando pitted at that point, I felt that Oscar was going to get it. Because Lando started struggling, started making mistakes, started going off.”

Montoya wasn’t shy about Norris’s errors: “Lando made a lot of mistakes in the race. At one point, he opened the gap, did a good job, and he was fine. Five seconds, it looks good. And then here comes Oscar and Lando, you can hear the panic on the radio going: Where am I losing the time? What am I doing wrong? It's like, what the hell? Why am I losing all this time?”

Reflecting on what’s ahead, Montoya questioned how long Piastri can maintain his calm persona if Norris begins to consistently beat him: “The question is, is Oscar this hard rock or is Oscar very quiet and very good at playing it cool, hiding it? Everybody cracks, everybody has feelings, and everybody suffers. So I feel that if Lando starts beating Oscar enough, we're gonna see a different side of Oscar.”

“You can't be this cool and this calm about it and at the same time struggle. At the moment, it's easy. In the last couple of years, he was the underdog, and it's okay to struggle, and he's learning. But now, when you're in the championship and this guy's coming and it's gonna start coming at you every week, it'd be really cool to see if he can get his cool demeanour.”

Montoya concluded with a pointed reality check: “Yeah you're kicking my ass but I'm good with it? Hell. And you start bringing your A-game and your A-game is not enough, then we'll see what everybody's made of. Because we know Lando can crumble, but Lando can bounce really strong. The question is, if Lando holds this for a couple of weeks, then we're gonna see maybe a different Oscar.”