Lando Norris may still be soaking up the glory that comes with his world championship win, but one former driver has sent a brutal message to the McLaren star.
The dominance of McLaren in 2025 was clear from the outset, with Norris and Australia’s Oscar Piastri securing a comfortable lead in the constructors and drivers’ championships within weeks of the season beginning.
It wasn’t until the latter end of the season that Max Verstappen narrowed the gap to threaten the title battle, with Piastri losing his lead to his teammate.
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However, even with Verstappen’s late resurgence, Norris held firm and McLaren had already romped to the constructors’ championship title.
Still, former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya does not believe that the title win came down to Norris’ talent on the track, rather it was more the power of the car.
“Yes, Lando is a worthy champion, but anybody in that car could have been a world champion,” Montoya told Grosvenor Casinos.
F1 World Drivers Champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri celebrate. Formula 1 via Getty Images
“I think (the title win) has to do a lot with the car, more than him. At the beginning of the year, the car started the way it started, and it takes him a bit of time to understand what he needs out of the car and how to maximise the car.
“Once he and the team understood how to maximise the car, they made the necessary changes to make things better. That’s when he starts getting the job done. His attitude seems to change, a little bit as well.”
Montoya clarified that 2025 wasn’t unique, claiming that Verstappen benefitted from a similar disparity in 2023, when he romped to the title. He added that Michael Schumacher and Anton Senna were other examples.
“The car had such a big advantage. Anybody would have been world champion,” he continued.
“They did a mega job, that’s why it is a team sport. It’s part of the package.”
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. Getty
It was a different story for Ferrari, with drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton left to ride an unpredictable wave this season.
It was the first season that Hamilton had gone without a grand prix podium in his 18-year career, with his best result being fourth place in Silverstone.
Troubling results on the grid were made worse by the internal conflicts within the team.
While Hamilton was vocally disgruntled at his new team, a perhaps even darker cloud hangs over the future of his teammate Leclerc, despite the Monegasques inking a fresh deal to stay with the team until 2029.
Leclerc claims next season will be key to his future.
“Next year will be a crucial year,” he told media after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Honestly, I think the whole team is hugely motivated for next year, because it’s such a big change, a huge opportunity to show what Ferrari is capable of.
“It’s now or never. I really hope that we will start this new era on the right foot because it’s important for the four years after.
“Maybe not in the first three or four races, but by race six or seven, I think we’ll have a good idea of who are the teams that will be dominating for the four years after.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Leclerc’s warning was played down by team principal Fred Vasseur, who was seemingly unbothered by rumours his driver could be on the way out.
“Honestly, I think Charles, if you looked last year when (he’s) going to the TV pen and you’re asking him after the session ‘are you happy with the season’ when it’s P2?’ Or ‘are you happy when it’s P6?’, it’s not the same for Charles,” he said.
“If you ask him the day after ‘what do you want to do with the team?’ – I think the approach is always the same.
“It’s always constructive, to try and do better. Even if I’m P1, I have exactly the same approach with the team on the Monday morning (after the race), when we are doing the debrief to know and understand where we can do better.”