(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lando Norris has recently made significant progress in the fight for the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. After two consecutive wins, the reigning world champion travels to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza with considerable momentum. Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is closely watching the development at McLaren – and believes that the team from Woking is becoming an increasingly bigger threat to the competition.
Read more Angry Briatore accuses bias: A judge is close to McLaren!
Norris was able to win both in Hungary and recently in the Netherlands, continuing his comeback in the championship. Although the McLaren driver is still 83 points behind Mercedes driver and championship leader Kimi Antonelli before the weekend in Italy, the recent form curve clearly favors Norris and McLaren.
Montoya is therefore convinced that the balance of power is increasingly shifting. For the Colombian, it is not just the speed of the McLaren that is decisive. Above all, the growing willingness of the team to take risks during the race makes the difference.
Montoya sees new McLaren courage: “They go all out”
“The combination we see is a McLaren that is growing, a McLaren that is slowly putting everything together,” Montoya analyzes in the F1 TV show Weekend Warm-Up. The former Formula 1 driver is particularly impressed that McLaren is now willing to take significantly more risks with race strategy.
Montoya sees a decisive difference here compared to last season. Back then, McLaren already had a very fast car but, in his assessment, often acted too cautiously. The pressure to actually win with the fastest car had partially paralyzed the team.
“Last year they were put in a position with the fastest car where they won races, but they were afraid of making mistakes and losing races,” Montoya explains. Meanwhile, the situation has changed.
From favorite to underdog – and suddenly it works
McLaren is currently no longer in the comfortable position of a clear favorite in the title fight. Norris has to make up a large deficit to Antonelli on one hand and withstand the pressure that every further loss of points diminishes the title chances on the other.
According to Montoya, this situation even seems to suit McLaren. “Now they are the underdog and go all out – and it works,” says the 50-year-old.
The result is two consecutive wins for Norris. Even more important, however, could be the confidence that this creates within the team. Because the more often aggressive decisions are rewarded, the greater the willingness apparently becomes to take risks again next time.
“When you start doing such things and it works, the confidence in the team and among the people around you simply continues to grow,” Montoya explains. For Norris, this could create a dangerous momentum.
“It will be hard to stop him”: Montoya sees Norris on the rise
Montoya’s forecast is accordingly clear. The more Norris and McLaren believe in their own abilities, the harder it will be for the competition to stop the reigning world champion. “It will be hard to stop him,” says Montoya.
Read more More power, but: Honda struggles with this problem in the new power unit
This refers not only to the pure performance of the McLaren but especially to the interplay of car, driver, strategy, and growing confidence. Norris currently seems to have found exactly this combination.
Two consecutive wins have not yet come close to eliminating the deficit in the overall standings, but they have changed the dynamics of the title fight. What was a comfortable lead for Antonelli could suddenly become significant pressure as the season progresses.
For McLaren, it is added that Norris apparently develops increasing trust in his MCL40. Montoya sees this as another decisive factor – and at the same time explains why teammate Oscar Piastri currently cannot extract the same performance from the car.
According to Montoya, Piastri has not lost pace
Piastri has recently had difficulties delivering the same performance as Norris. However, Montoya warns against hastily concluding that the Australian has suddenly become slower. “He does a really good job in qualifying,” Montoya says about Piastri. “He is always there.”
Over a single lap, the McLaren driver can still drive the car very fast. The problem seems rather to be that Piastri does not have the same confidence in the MCL40 in every area. Especially in a certain tire situation, the car apparently becomes more difficult for the Australian to control.
“Over one lap he drives very comfortably, and when he is on the right compound for him, he is very fast,” Montoya explains. “But for some reason, the car now seems difficult for him to drive when he is on a hotter tire.”
The decisive difference: Norris trusts the McLaren
“I don’t think they have found the sweet spot for him,” Montoya says about Piastri. At the same time, the former Formula 1 driver explicitly emphasizes that the Australian has not lost speed.
That is also the reason why Norris’ current strength should not be explained solely by a supposedly poor form of his teammate. “It is very easy to say: ‘Oh, Lando is doing such a good job’,” Montoya says.
His explanation is more nuanced: “Lando simply feels comfortable with the car.” This very confidence can make an enormous difference on the racetrack.
On the other hand, those who struggle with unpredictable vehicle behavior automatically become more cautious. “If you don’t know what the car will do, you will never release the brake the same way,” Montoya says. “You will never carry that speed.”
Read more «Absolute idiot»: Next outrage about Antonelli at Russell’s best time in Monza